Reviews with content warning for Cultural appropriation - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

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.

Content Warnings

kimveach's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

arianashea's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

katsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

"I believe in myself above all.”

“I got a better question for you. Why are you so deeply invested in proving I'm scared? Does a Black person showing they're scared make you feel safer? I suggest you sit back and interrogate that.”

The format of this book was super cool and intriguing. I really loved how it made me feel like I was really hearing the characters and getting to know them yet somehow also kept them at arm's length. It was hard to truly like any of the characters. I felt like it helped it feel like they were real people. Every person had their own imperfections and flaws that made them feel more realistic. I felt like the social commentary was really impactful, as well. It was really interesting to read a story about the artistic and creative labor of black women and how it's been exploited throughout history. I struggled with the ending a little bit. I wanted a bigger conclusion and resolution. I wanted everything for Opal. But on the other hand, would that have made it less realistic? This isn't one of those books that necessarily has a nice happy bow tying up all the loose ends. It's fiction but I've already stated that I liked how realistic it was. Perhaps, the real world is what actually disappoints me.

Content Warnings

More...