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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
26 reviews
jillkaarlela's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Age rating: 16+
This book was not at all what I expected, in the best way. I loved the use of physical wings as a metaphor for general “othering” from society!! I also loved how we got a full deep dive into all of the family’s backstories before we got to the main character, Ava. It really helped to set the scene! This book is very heavy, as it deals with how people handle generational trauma and “othering” from society, so please be advised by the trigger warnings. However, I really enjoyed this! I think there is a lot of wisdom to be taken from this book.
Trigger warning: violence, hate crime, generational trauma, grief, death, sexual violence, medical content, suicidal thoughts, religious trauma
This book was not at all what I expected, in the best way. I loved the use of physical wings as a metaphor for general “othering” from society!! I also loved how we got a full deep dive into all of the family’s backstories before we got to the main character, Ava. It really helped to set the scene! This book is very heavy, as it deals with how people handle generational trauma and “othering” from society, so please be advised by the trigger warnings. However, I really enjoyed this! I think there is a lot of wisdom to be taken from this book.
Trigger warning: violence, hate crime, generational trauma, grief, death, sexual violence, medical content, suicidal thoughts, religious trauma
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Death, Child death, Violence, Rape, Death of parent, and Hate crime
starryeyedlover's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Animal death, Xenophobia, Grief, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Eating disorder
ylshelflove's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏?”
I loved the fairytale-like sentences, magical realism and all the subtle motifs! Also, most of this book is set in Seattle, and her descriptions of the flora and the climate gave me such PNW heartache <333
The infusion of magic lets Walton highlight a bunch of ideas, particularly generational trauma (religion-inspired yuckiness is a close second). I really liked how each mother’s personal history affects the way she parents, and a gold star for all the other smoothly woven-in commentary! Reading this felt a bit like watching a sim rather than immersion, and I think that was the right choice for this story. It helps to maintain that fairytale atmosphere, and it allows Walton to switch to minor characters’ POV without disrupting the flow of the story.
However, the ending of this book was so jarring that it knocked a full star off my rating. Everything happened extremely quickly after a long and tense buildup, and I would have liked to spend a little more time in the climax/falling action before the resolution. And the last thing that Ava does, I just don’t understand what Walton is trying to say. Not even that I don’t agree with her execution or her conclusion, just pure bewilderment.
Other things I didn’t like: -The way Walton blithely waltzes through so many things that are commonly TW’d these days. They end up feeling like shock-value additions or ‘it’s just a joke man’ caricatures, whether or not that was how they were intended. -So many books (Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Scarlet Letter, and Chocolat, namely) came to mind when reading this, and while none of them got to point where I felt like Walton was paying homage to them, it still felt a little weird to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Religious bigotry, Blood, and Violence
vulturetime's review against another edition
3.0
I personally love it when things are weird and unexplained, so this book had a few things going for it from the get go. I did enjoy the beginning, but I feel like for a book titled "The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender" we really didn't see as much of Ava as I would've liked. The lead up to her own sorrow aka, when she is raped and mutilation is... kinda brief, I think? Especially considering what happens to her. I also wished there was more of Henry (her twin brother) around. In general, I feel like if you're going to do a generational story like this, you do need more than 301 pages to really cement all the characters, but that's just me liking details.
As to the other content in the book... first, there were just lines here and there that were either outdated or just could've not been in there. For instance, Ava's great-grandfather was a phrenologist. Why was it a choice to have him be an expert in a racist pseudoscience? Additionally, cr*pple and g*psy were both used, but since it was published in 2014, not surprised. There were also one off lines that just irritated me, like when someone was compared to something foreign (toed the edges of exoticism sometimes) or that line about how police officers were Good (police are basically not mentioned at all for the rest of the story, except when there is the crime scene, so why was this in here?).
I also wished there was more development or thought given to Nathaniel's obsession. The way he completely spiraled into obsession over Ava was, other than being purposefully uncomfortable, confused me, because yes, she may look like an angel and he is very religious, but not everyone who is very religious would be the same? Especially to the point that they'd rape a 15 year old. Also, because things are left vague, you can draw some unpleasant messages. I don't think that any of these were the intention of the author, but like. Nathaniel no longer being saint-like when he sees Ava could imply something about her; alternatively, he moved in with his fat aunt who he was supposed to fix, and his aunt was the first time that people didn't just "fix" themselves in his prescence. Ava has white wings in the end after recovery, so is it something like she starts off on a new, blank slate or that suffering has led to something new? Once again, I don't think the author means anything harmful by this situation, but it's a bit eh.
Would recommend if you think you may like surrealist/weird fiction, though be very aware of the content warnings.
As to the other content in the book... first, there were just lines here and there that were either outdated or just could've not been in there. For instance, Ava's great-grandfather was a phrenologist. Why was it a choice to have him be an expert in a racist pseudoscience? Additionally, cr*pple and g*psy were both used, but since it was published in 2014, not surprised. There were also one off lines that just irritated me, like when someone was compared to something foreign (toed the edges of exoticism sometimes) or that line about how police officers were Good (police are basically not mentioned at all for the rest of the story, except when there is the crime scene, so why was this in here?).
Would recommend if you think you may like surrealist/weird fiction, though be very aware of the content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Violence
erinfitzharris's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
adelll's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism
bree_of_the_woods's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I loved this book… and then the last 40 pages happened. It’s a struggle. The writing style is poetic, enchanting, magical.
The magical realism aspect of beautifully done, and the many minor stories woven into the plot, depicting magic in every day occurrences and the way it impacts the lives of everyone was delicious. It reminded me very much of Alice Hoffman’s writing.
A tale of generational struggles, love lost and the tragedies that follow four generations of the Roux-Lavender family. It’s sad, but captivating, and you hope for more for the FMC and her twin. The magical realism portions are never explained, which is fine, but I do find the violence that occurs in the last quarter of the book to be very strong and relatively undealt with by the end. I’m not sure it served a purpose, or was properly resolved. We experience the fallout from the secondary characters, a minor chapter from the FMC, and then it’s all wrapped up quite abruptly from there. Which is what causes me to give the book a lower rating. It had great potential but I’m not sure the ending was the right one.
The magical realism aspect of beautifully done, and the many minor stories woven into the plot, depicting magic in every day occurrences and the way it impacts the lives of everyone was delicious. It reminded me very much of Alice Hoffman’s writing.
A tale of generational struggles, love lost and the tragedies that follow four generations of the Roux-Lavender family. It’s sad, but captivating, and you hope for more for the FMC and her twin. The magical realism portions are never explained, which is fine, but I do find the violence that occurs in the last quarter of the book to be very strong and relatively undealt with by the end. I’m not sure it served a purpose, or was properly resolved. We experience the fallout from the secondary characters, a minor chapter from the FMC, and then it’s all wrapped up quite abruptly from there. Which is what causes me to give the book a lower rating. It had great potential but I’m not sure the ending was the right one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Child death
debz57a52's review against another edition
4.5
This book fell on my radar almost a decade ago because of the Goodreads nomination, so I'm glad I finally got around to it. The story of Ava Lavender is quite a tale, mesmerizing and sad but joyful and lovely too. What really makes this book, though, is the story of the women (and some men) who came before her; knowing their stories and how they feed into Ava's experiences is what gives this story the depth that enchants readers like me. The magical realism is pretty special, too, though. There were a few slow-ish parts, which I mostly skimmed through, but this is such an enjoyable book that I never once thought the skimming was good. I was just an impatient reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Animal death, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Mental illness, Homophobia, Death of parent, Violence, Confinement, Infidelity, and Stalking
cakeroo's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Physical abuse and Incest
midastouchchevydoor's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
never before have i read something so painfully exquisite or tragically beautiful. i never want to see this book again, it wrecked me so. this book is one that anne shirley cuthbert would never, ever, shut up about. we’re the same in that respect. now, thanks to leslye walton, there is an ache in my heart so strong idk if it’ll ever go away. i hate this book for one reason: no other story will EVER live up to the expectations “the strange and beautiful sorrows of ava lavender” has created. the bar is so high, ava herself couldn’t reach it. or can she? find out yourself. your life will remain incomplete until you’ve consumed every last word of this book. trust me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Violence