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frenandjen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Death, and Hate crime
Minor: Infidelity, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, Addiction, Violence, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting, and Drug use
annabulkowski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Death, Misogyny, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Addiction, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Racism
bealittlebrave's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Infidelity, and Hate crime
Moderate: Rape, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Grief, and Misogyny
jashanac's review against another edition
3.75
The audiobook is fantastic -- definitely recommend reading it that way if possible!
I thought the story was interesting and had a lot of nuanced conversations surrounding race and gender, throughout several decades in American history. The characters were compelling, and even the side characters were compelling and I thought really added a lot of depth to the overall story.
Ultimately though, I'm NOT really "into" rock music like that, so those elements of the story didn't captivate me as much as they probably captivate other readers. And I honestly found a lot of Sunny's portion of the story to be a bit unnecessary, as it stood. I guess I wish we had actually gotten more in-depth with her perspective and her own story. I know that wasn't exactly the point here, but it made it so that any time we stepped out of the Opal and Nev history and into Sunny's current life, I didn't care all that much.
I also did think that the ending was a bit rushed, but not enough to "ruin" the ending for me.
Overall I felt like this was immersive (it's true what everyone says -- you forget that these are NOT real people and events...!) and covered some really good conversations and themes, but ultimately it isn't a book I ever see myself re-reading, simply because while I enjoyed my time with it, I didn't LOVE my time with it, probably because I'm just not that "into" rock music and band stories in general!
Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
thehmkane's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Medical content, Drug abuse, Misogyny, and Drug use
ringofkeyz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Police brutality, Infidelity, and Death
Minor: Sexual harassment and Addiction
spookyaz's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail
alomie's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
katewhite77's review against another edition
- 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
On one level this is very entertaining and upsetting in equal measure spoof aural history of a spoof of a 1970s Anglo American pop duo and on another it says something important about racism sexism and capitalism on both sides of the Atlantic.
I think fans of Daisy Jones and the Six would really like this as they are similar in both Audio and print. I would say The Final Rival of Opal And New has another strand to it though.
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Sexism
kimveach's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Grief, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts