Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

9 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Death, Child death, Violence, Rape, Death of parent, and Hate crime

mcft37's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

Really. Wow.

This book was simply stunning.  I adored the fantastical elements of magical realism woven throughout the story. Each character was richly developed. A beautifully written ode to love. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Death, and Sexual violence

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

bloo_0's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Blood and Death of parent

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

lauramcc7's review

dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Child death, Rape, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

lilifane's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

Please check trigger warnings before reading this book. 

No coherent thoughts, just tears.

I loved it so much. The beautiful writing, the magical realism, the quirky and strange characters, the small-town vibes, the multi-generation family dynamics, the heartbreak, the love, the foreboding, the perseverance, the hope. 

But it was hard to read sometimes because of all the... sorrow and trauma and heartbreak, especially towards the end. I basically cried for the last 20% of it. But I still love this book with all my heart. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual violence, Death, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual assault

bronteide's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

It was gripping, and I liked family sagas in general, so I liked to see how the characters changed as time went by. But there were many plot holes, too much talk about sex and very uncomfortable to read descriptions of female body. A lot of character's actions were super strange. And of course, the climax was the thing that ruined it for me. Despite all the darkness, until that scene I thought that this book would become a comfort read for me, but now... no. and all the events that happened after the climax?

like, she recovered from the trauma so fast and it made her a better person?? srs?

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Misogyny

basket_of_fruit's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia

Minor: Stalking and Injury/Injury detail