Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

44 reviews

thehmkane's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It's unfortunate that this book won't be able to avoid comparison to Daisy Jones, because this, to me, is a much more solid journey into that space. Timely, but nostalgic; classic, but modern.

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spookyaz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this book was written in such a convincing/interwoven way that I had to stop myself at several points and be like "no, opal & nev was not an actual musical duo"

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alomie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a fabulous book, like a avant-garde punk version of Daisy Jones and the Six, with so much more to say.

Steeped in conversations about race and gender, the winners and losers and who should be getting the spotlight, and how so many times the system fails women and people of colour.

Nev is still a highly successful, white "rock star" but with all the ego and none of the sparkle, a talented musician sure, but a man who is willing to step on anyone to get the fame, and who allegedly started a riot, that ends up killing a man.

Opal is by far the stand out of the pair, vibrant, powerful and with a richly layered past, brings a fire to the music and performance Nev can only wish, but as is the way, Opal is the one who is sidelined and not taken seriously, and ridiculed.

I really enjoyed this book, and I understand why this was on the women's prize shortlist.

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naturally's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

all of the characters (bar sunny) are so fleshed out and rich in detail that i felt as though i was reading a non-fiction piece in a magazine publication or a documentary transcript. opal, pearl, rosemary and virgil were standout voices to me. i adored opal's POV in particular, her story feels like an ode to all the black musical legends who have been used and thrown aside by the music industry and whom haven't been given the opportunity to tell their own stories.

typically, i find song lyrics in books cringey, but nev's knack for songwriting and lyricism come across well on the page, and further illustrate his quirks.

the commentary on race, gender, politics and the music industry are real and raw without coming across as preachy.

my only criticisms are that i would have liked to have read more about how nev handled the fallout of his and opal's reunion concert. i also felt that, despite having such a personal stake in the story, sunny's editor notes felt very distant and impersonal? as a character, her personality just felt a lot flatter than everyone else's...

overall, this is an amazing debut by dawnie walton - i'll definitely be reading another book by her!

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kimveach's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was amazing! I loved it. Please listen to it. I'm sure it's good in print, but the full-cast audio makes this a performance. The book is in a similar documentary style as Daisy Jones & The Six, but it's also different in so many ways. I loved this one a little more.

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