Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - The Changeling

I really enjoyed this book, because you never really knew where you were headed next. The story is thrilling, heartbreaking, engaging, mysterious, and so much more. It touches on the real life and how we engage with people when they’re at their lowest, and makes the fantastical horror even more terrifying by how easily it all started, in a realistic way.

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minaopal's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

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sup3r_xn0va_maya's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

The Changeling is a very interesting story and I honestly am not sure how to rate it. This is my first time reading a full length dark fairy tale and I'll say that I enjoyed it for the most part. I enjoyed the first half of the book more than I enjoyed the second half, probably because at the 3/4th mark in the book it gets a little bit confusing and is a little hard to follow.

I don't want to say too much because this is one of those books where the reader should start reading this with as little information on the book as possible. Overall I'll say that this was really creative and I really enjoyed LaValle's writing style. I felt creeped out a few times so this is the perfect read for spooky season! This wasn't my favorite book and I didn't feel completely fulfilled by the ending, I do however respect and appreciate the creativity that went into this story.

I'm going to give this 3.5 stars out of 5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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bandysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

The Changeling is a mix of horror and modern day fairytale that creates a really unique story. It follows a family who is rocked by a tragic event, leaving a distraught father in its wake. It explores grief, generational trauma, and the meaning of family.

During the first part of this book, I was a bit confused and honestly a bit bored. It just seemed like a story about a family, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Once the story is set, it picks up quickly and gets really interesting.

I thought the way that this book explored trauma was very unique as well. We See two people who are really struggling and are not receiving the support that they need. The consequences of that ripple throughout the story.

All in all, if you like horror and fairytales mixed with real life, I think you’ll like this book. There are some difficult topics in it, so please check the trigger warnings.

TW: Murder, Death of a Child, Mental Illness, Blood, Assault, Guns

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foxo_cube's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

I wasn't sure how this one was going to go when I started reading it - I didn't get on too well with the writing style initially, and, although I settled into it, I'd still say it's not my favourite. Not outright bad or anything, just not for me.

Nonetheless, it wasn't a dealbreaker, and I'm very glad I continued reading because it's a HELL of a story. If ever you think you know where the plot's going - which, for me, was often - you are proven wrong pretty quickly. It heavily telegraphs one thing, then does something else entirely. The book narrowly avoids going into the territory of silliness, and I mean that in a good way. At least, I like that sort of thing.

I do think some of the "Internet bad" messaging is a little heavy-handed. It's not preachy, or even totally anti-Internet - part of the book's sentiment is simply about caution when using social media, which is a pretty important thing. Still, I can't not mention it. The troll bit is especially obvious as a metaphor. The only other big criticism I have of this book is that the characters are a little flat. They're enough to be invested in - what shines through most is Apollo's absolute adoration of his son, and that is beautifully expressed - but it's sort of... just enough for that, if that makes sense.

The thing that made this story work for me is how curious it made me to find out the truth. Because you mostly know only what Apollo knows, and uncover things along with him, you will often find yourself led to believe one version of events only to discover, later, a whole different truth entirely. The way that LaValle pulls that off is fantastic.

I think this will be a book worth re-reading because, having read this in two sittings, more-or-less, I noticed that there was a sort of breadcrumb trail for the curveballs in the plot, and I'd like to see if this is more visible the second time round.

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madarauchiha's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️

I read LaValle's 'The Ballad of Black Tom' in an anthology I don't even recall the name of. And I was hooked. Instant fan, I'll follow LaValle's works ANYWHERE.

PHEW. Jeus christ. This was so much. It was a mildly slow, meandering start, but it benefited from laying down the groundwork. Everything you'd want to know gets answered in a satisfactory way. It does cover some heavy topics like child abuse, but it's not over the top graphic, romanticized, or gorey.

The book summary is a lil misleading in that it's not a straight up fairy tale. It has modern settings, and the fairy tale portions are relayed as just that: fairy tales. It was fantastic when the fairy tale and modern settings come together and you finally get the whole picture. This really needs a reread or three because there are LAYERS to this onion, baby! Please for the love of montressor, read this book!

Content warnings:
minor toxic masculinity, NSFW, alcohol, slavery,

medium diseases, insects, NSFW, throat trauma, suicide attempt,
police brutality, murder, gun violence, breast feeding, gun violence, hostage attempt, sharps,

major breast feeding, house fires, demolition, fire, cyber bullying, unsanitary, body horror, religion christianity, toxic workplace, sexual harassment, child neglect, pregnancy, childbirth, child abuse, domestic abuse, police, unsanitary, antiblack racism, police brutality, murder, child abandonment, mass murder, demolition, misogyny, domestic abuse, stalking, violence, drowning, torture, gore, confinement?, violence, domestic abuse, child death, prisons, child death, animal death, animal gore, police, unsanitary,

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rorikae's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

'The Changeling' by Victor LaValle is a horrifying story that delves into themes of parenthood, familial trauma, and how far one will go for their child.

The story centers on Apollo Kagwa, a rare book dealer who has just welcomed a baby with his daughter Emma. But their life is disrupted when Emma starts getting strange text messages and begins to act off. One night, after an act of extreme violence, she disappears. Apollo is left trying to piece his world back together and learn more about what really happened in his home and what was its cause.

LaValle does an exceptional job of slowly ramping up the tension in 'The Changeling.' I knew this book was horror going in but the horrific acts and moments still sneak up on you because LaValle has created this really solid base of strong characters. We care for Apollo, learning about his childhood, how he met Emma, and how excited they are at the birth of his son. This makes the revelations and horrific moments in this story that much more stark because they stand out from the normal life that LaValle has painted. Apollo has to dig into his own past to learn about his family at the same time that he is trying to unpack what is happening in his life. This unpacks his familial trauma as he works to be a better father and husband than his own father. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by LaValle himself, and his calm narration is the perfect contrast to some of the truly horrific discoveries that are included in this story. I highly recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a horrific family story but go in knowing that there are a lot of trigger warnings and it isn't easy.

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