All of the comparisons to Daisy Jones & The Six (one of my favorite reads of all time) are well deserved, both because of the style it was written in as well as how enjoyable this book is! The oral history format makes this story feel extremely lived in and, at times, had me feeling as if Opal and Nev were truly a musical duo that I had just forgotten existed. I will agree with some other reviews that this story took me a little while to get into, but once the characters and time period had been well established I was HOOKED.

Some things that really set this book apart for me and made it intriguing (instead of just a copy of Daisy Jones & The Six) are that the focus are primarily on Opal and Sunny, the narrator who has a strong link to Opal through her father. Focusing on these two characters made them feel extremely developed and made me more invested in their story. I do wish there had been more explanation of Nev's character and motivations, but perhaps that's also what made his character feel realistic. Additionally, this story dives deep into the racial and gender tensions of this time period, as well as their continuing and lasting impact in today's society.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev was my very first advanced copy and what a great book to claim that title! Dawnie Walton tells the story of the rise, fall and then 'revival' of the somewhat unlikely punk-rock duo Opal and Nev. The book is written interview-style as Sunny Shelton works to compile a book on Opal and Nev, with all the key characters skillfully represented in their own voice. She interweaves real life artists both past and present through public statements and snippets from articles, which added a fun 'hey. I know that person!' element to the book. I've seen other reviews that compare the novel to Daisy Jones and the Six, and while I can certainly see the parallels in the topic and writing style (I can see Opal and Nev being an excellent full cast audiobook, much like Daisy Jones), the stories are very different, and Opal and Nev tackle some tough topics that Waltonbrings to life so vividly.

The front half of the book felt slow to me and I honestly struggled to get into it. You know from the start that there is a violent bursting onto the scene by the duo when the death of their drummer (and Sunny's father) Jimmy takes place at one of their concerts. This isn't a spoiler - you learn about it in the opening chapter - and the first half of the book is a slow march towards this inevitable moment. I had trouble reaching for this book initally because this part is so slow, but then you realize what a master Walton is - this is supposed to feel slow, almost boring. It's what everyone already knows, why is Sunny just repeating in her book what is already out there. What is she missing? It isn't until Sunny realizes this that the reader grasps just how important it was for you to be a bit bored by her story at the outset. There is more there, and by the halfway point, both you and Sunny realize it. Then the story picks up as Walton slowly uncovers the real story - this is where the magic of this book is.

Along the way, the reader gets to know these interesting, well-developed, complex characters - their stuggles, triumphs, and flaws. And you learn so much about the time and culture surrounding them - that is a big part of what makes this book so special. The fashion statements crafted by Opal and her best friend Virgil also add so much: "the hat, I notice, is blooming not with flowers or feathers, but with a clutch of plastic Black-power fists" (yes!).

I highlighted so many lines in the book and reading them over for this review solidified in my mind just how strong this book is. Here is one of my favorites: "There's too much work to do in this revolution and too many people to wake up. Too much to fight. Nobody has time to get waylaid by fear."

I can't wait for it to get into the hands of more people.

After seeing this as a Book of the Month club pick, I luckily got approved for the ARC.

This fictional oral history reads so realistically that I found myself trying to google the characters to see if they were real (some minor players are) and I loved how Dawnie Walton brought this this rock 'n' roll duo and lifestyle to the pages. We get multiple viewpoints, excerpts from interviews, and editor notes through the entire novel that create a stunning reflection on their career that ends in the present day. It touches on racism, the ins and outs of the music industry, family tensions, secrets and revealed truths.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and I loved Opal and Virgil the most. They were killer, they were fierce, they were fabulous.

The characters were well developed. And the story was very well documented! I felt like I was part a part of a behind the scenes documentary on Opal and Nev!
But the end of the book just fell off for me. great story awesome writing.

Wow; I feel like I was part a part of a behind the scenes documentary on Opal and Nev! The readers are watching events unfold (unable to stop tragedy from happening) and feel a part of the story. All the characters really held their own , but Opal is the star. Her dreams, regrets, experiences and music are the highlight of this book.

Journalist Dawnie Walton's debut, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is THE book of the moment. An unabashedly provocative story, it speaks to the social/political issues of the present by telling the tale of a fictional music duo’s rise to fame and their planned-for revival concert in 2016. The story is told through distinct-yet-perfect framing: This book is an oral history, which gets shaped into a fictional book being written about the revival (and the history that came before it) by S. Sunny Shelton, the daughter of the duo’s original drummer, Jimmy. Sunny’s interviews with all the main characters make up the majority of the book, as well as her own editorial notes and recollections about events. It’s similar to Taylor Jenkin Reid’s rock/oral history novel, Daisy Jones and the Six. Yet, while Daisy mined the history of the band to reveal the answer to a mystery and deconstruct a quasi-romance, Opal & Nev uses that history to solve a mystery, while also commenting on racism, politics, sexism, feminism, and fame.

Opal, a Black singer from Detroit, recorded two albums for Rivington Records with Nev, a British singer/songwriter. Their collaboration didn’t generate much fanfare, until they ended up sharing a festival line-up with the Bond Brothers, their label’s most-famous yet troublesome act. The Bond Brothers, a country band from Florida, irks Opal and the more sensible producers at the label due to their excessive drinking and drugging, dallying with groupies, and, especially their flagrant use of the Confederate flag--on their vests and as a prop for their stage show. They bring a huge Confederate flag to the showcase (as well as a rowdy, drunk motorcycle gang that sexually harasses the women in the other bands), which eventually causes all hell to break loose. The gang members beat up and eventually kill Sunny’s Dad (and Opal’s lover), Jimmy. During the riot, an image is taken and gets a showcase in The New York Times. It’s Nev, carrying Opal on his back out of the melee. The notoriety from the photo revives the duo’s fledgling career, and they enjoy a short but intense time as rock stars who break all the rules by singing about the denigrated and downtrodden members of society fighting against “the man.” One extremely provocative song in particular achieves infamous notoriety.

I don’t want to spoil too many plot points, but this riot is the event that propels the varied storylines, particularly how the ultra-compelling character of Opal (it’s no fluke that she, not Nev, is featured on the book’s cover) navigates the racial, sexist, familial, and personal challenges in her path. She’s an amazing character. A punk-rock goddess who is both empowering in her fashion and in using her voice to speak out against society’s ills (as a singer and an activist), but, at the same time, ignorant of nefarious forces that ultimately affected her career. Sunny, as her fan/antagonist/fellow Black woman, has an engrossing relationship with Opal--it’s the beating heart beneath the explosive social issues this novel explores.

Walton does a wonderful job making each character’s voice distinct (LOVE Virgil!), while also honestly and openly commenting on how the divisive political atmosphere of our country has reignited talk and exploration of the racist and sexist challenges plaguing our electorate. Through the fiction, she openly and honestly addresses a wide range of hot-button issues in a completely believable and thoroughly engrossing way.

Whether you’re a music fan, a lover of contemporary fiction, an activist, or a person interested in the politicized issues of today, you’ll love this searing, engrossing novel.

An interesting interview-esque read that is perfect for fans of Daisy Jones & The Six, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, or musicians' biographies. As a fan of plot-driven novels, this wasn't for me, but I can definitely appreciate its beauty and the appeal that many could find.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is being overwhelmingly compared to Daisy Jones and the Six but apart from being 1) about a musical group in the 70s and 2) written in the oral history format, there aren’t many similarities. This has more going on: a daughter’s search to learn more about her father, the detailed account of a interracial musical duo’s career, and an explosive event of racial violence that leaves scars and secrets behind.

I struggled so hard through the vast majority of the book. There is so much - SO much - about the nitty gritty details of the behind the scenes business aspects and it read heavily like a nonfiction book. I got very tired of reading about managers, fashion decisions, album covers, event bookings, stage set up, press releases, and on and on. There are a lot of editor’s notes interspersed to fill in the timeline and then occasionally to share the journalist’s personal feelings and it all forced me to have even more of a nonfiction-ish experience rather than the escapist story I was looking for. I was just so, so bored through all but the dead center of the novel where the dramatic event happens.

I would recommend this to anyone enthralled with the 1970s music scene who also loves unconventional novel structures.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is a book ripe for the times. Themes of racism, female Black power, activism, loyalty and the role of art in society speak to our divided nation. Walton's writing is evocative and purposeful. The oral history structure serves to give each character a distinctive voice and role in the complex story. The structure is somewhat experimental in that even beyond the oral history, there are layers from the perspective of who is taking the oral history and why. Overall, I found the story compelling, but a bit wrought with noise. There was too much detail from a few too many side characters.. The central characters, and Opal and Pearl in particular, are well-crafted and captivating. I would have preferred to hear more from them and less from the surrounding characters and the record industry. As a debut, it's very impressive and I'm eager to read what Walton offers next.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this digital ARC.

This book is always going to be compared to "Daisy Jones & The Six" and that's unfortunate because it has so much more to offer. Yes, it has similarities - the multi-narrator format, it's about a musical group in the early seventies and the "author" has a personal connection to the subjects. But it feels more relevant to our current times with its themes of feminine identity, sexism, racism and white privilege.

Another reviewer called this "journalistic fiction" and that is perfect description for this book. There's a "behind the scenes" vibe with a peek into the music industry, publishing and "celebrity" life that hooks you right away. But it's the characters and their complex relationship to each other that keep this story going. And Walton deftly captures the tone of the 70s art and music scene.

Definitely recommend

“The voices of Black women like Opal should not be discounted or diminished in deference to those who have hijacked our shine whenever it suits.”
After I finished The Final Revival of Opal and Nev at 2 in the morning, I stayed awake for another hour just thinking about how much I loved it.
Straight off the top: this book will draw comparisons to Daisy Jones and the Six (and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, for that matter.)
But I would like to submit for the record: Opal and Nev transcends Daisy Jones. And I don’t say that lightly, given how much I love the Fleetwood Mac if it all in DJ.
But it’s hard not to feel like all books about fictional rock bands are sanitized in comparison to Opal and Nev. The book - and the band - are willing to go where others don’t, and it pays off.
The reason, of course, is because Opal is a Black frontwoman of a rock band. Her music partner is a white man. A hate crime is the driving force of their careers and lives. Which means Opal and Nev - the book and the band - are inherently political. And the best music and the best books about music, I think, is political.
Because Opal and Nev is a book deeply about race, politics, and how Black Lives Matter - whether that be in 1971 or 2016 - the book surpassed its peers in every way.
The stakes in this book are higher, the rises and falls of the characters are bigger, the reveals are more shocking and the relevancy is more urgent.
And Opal. The Afropunk provocateur frontwoman propels the novel forward, and both her past selves and her current selves stick into your memory. For a punk music lover like me, my only regret is that Opal herself isn’t a real person, and that there are so many would-be Opals in the real world who never got the huge careers they should have had. (A side note: you should look up Poly Styrene.)
She also shared the heart and soul of the book with its intrepid narrator. S. Sunny Shelton is a rock journalist trying to tell a story that she herself is deeply connected to. I loved them both.
Author Dawnie Walton knows exactly when to introduce a new character, complicate a matter you thought was resolved, add a new detail or let a character be a little more vulnerable. The story itself, which I don’t want to give to much away on, both surprised me and gave me everything I wanted.
From the plot to the writing to the characterization to its applicability to the real world, it’s all masterful and it’s my new pinnacle for this type of book.

PS. One of the details I loved about this book was how seamlessly it blended the fiction of its world with our world. There was just a lot of joy to be had in seeing reviews about Opal from Janelle Monae and Henry Rollins, and young punk women wearing X-Ray Spex shirts.

I liked this book. It is very powerful and chilling. I would definitely recommend it to those that like thrillers!

The innovative and vibrant structure the author devised for this book taught me a lot. The voices were distinct, compelling, a great read alongside Daisy and the Six or other "mock rock histories", but also a nod to struggle and racial history in the music industry. But I was completely hooked by the oral history concept. Loved that and want to use it!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💬 ❝I was twenty-one years old and 'suffering for my art,' as they say. I wanted to feel morose and romantic; I wanted to do penance at the alter of greatness.❞
📖 In the early 70s, a morose yet quirky British singer/songwriter is trying to get his music career off the ground. He and his producers, searching for a black woman to sing on his record, snag Opal Jewel from an open mic night in Detroit. Opal is the blueprint for what will become Afro-Punk and an absolute star in her own right. Together they make music, pop-culture, and political history together. Fast-forward to 2016 and the pair are floating the idea of a revival tour together and S. Sunny Shelton, a music journalist with a personal connection to the famous duo, creates a puts together a deep dive oral history of the most intense years of their careers.
👍 So, let me start by saying that I will literally always pick up any fictional biography/mock journalism story about a fictional band. I have a deep, deep love of pop-culture and pop-culture history. So any time you tell me a book is historical fiction about music, film, comics, etc I am 100% game, and generally I'm going to love them. This book is absolutely no exception and probably the best version of this I've read in a long time. I know a lot of people are going to want to jump in and compare it to Daisy Jones but I really want people to push that out of their heads. This book interacts with history, politics, and identity in so many interesting ways. And generally, the one turn off I have with these kinds of stories is that there's always the twist that the person writing the history or conducting the interview has some familial or personal connection to the subject and that always takes me out of the story. But here, it is not used as a plot twist at the end of the book, Shelton tells you up front in the first editor's note what her connection is and I think that saved a whole star on my rating for this book. Not only is this an exemplar of the genre, it's also a poignant read for our contemporary moment in history. Opal Jewel is a character who is going to stay with me for a very long time.
👎 I have almost no notes for this book, I loved every second of it. I do wonder what this book would have looked like as a straight biography, rather than an oral history. Especially since I know that format is going to draw those comparisons to Reid's work. But that's not a critique so much as it is a curiosity.
📚Pair with: They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib and Meet Me in the Bathroom by Lizzie Goodman
⚠️Racial slurs, racism, drug use, sexual assault, police brutality. (via @the.storygraph)

The best way to read this book is as a Non-fiction, but knowing it's a fictional story.

I find this story very complex with a few storylines to it. There is the story of Opal & Nev who collaborate of a rock and roll album. One is avant-garde and one is looking for fame. They play at the Rivington label's showcase. Then there is the story of Rivington Label itself, which is a small label who signs a few artists, some become famous and others not so much, they put on the Rivington Label showcase. Finally, the story of S. Sunny Shelton, who is the daughter of Jimmy Curtis, who died at the showcase, and who is trying to find out what happen that night. And while Sunny Shelton is finding out about what happen she finds a world of very interesting and well developed characters who are living extraordinary lives.

I was mixed about this book at times I really enjoyed and wanted more and other times it drag, but over all it is a very good book about the recording world.

I want to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book for my honest opinion.

My first thoughts when reading The Final Revival of Opal & Nev were that this feels an awful lot like Daisy Jones and the Six. And they are both similar in that they both are the retelling of the histories of 2 fictional bands told through interviews and excerpts. This book felt more personal with Sunny's connection to Opal and Nev. It was an interestingly laid out story and deep in its discussion on the very current topic of race in America. Overall a good read!

This book definitely has “Daisy and The Six” vibes with the way it was written like an interview and the storyline of once happy musical duo went sour; however, I liked this book more than I liked “Daisy and The Six”. I found this storyline bit more interesting than the other: instead of reading about bunch of brats being mad at each other after not being able to keep their love story alive, this book brought in more meaty topics like race, feminism and equality. We got to see more about the interviewer’s point of view and her share and effect in the way this storyline developed.

Nev is an English boy who has some talent but was pushed into music more because of his mother. Opal is her quiet and more reserved sister’s crazy pair in musical journey. One guy took a chance on Nev knowing he meant nothing with his solo career. Opal joined the party when producer and Nev found her in a little Detroit club. Nev was infatuated with Opal. He wanted her to be his better half. Opal was farming the emotions but she wasn’t as crazy as he was. They were a good duo until things went south... Opal lost someone very near and dear in a riot that started as a musical showcase. Nev lost Opal...

Opal wasn’t the only one who lost someone during that riot. Our interviewer also lost someone she had never met since she was still in her mum’s tummy. She made it her life goal to understand this duo, what happened that night during what was supposed to be a concert and what lead to her father’s death... I liked how this story incorporates interviews and narrative while depicting the political and social atmosphere of the era. I highly recommend this story!

"Our show for our fans ain't have a thing to do with their show for theirs."

-------------------------

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev recounts the story of a musical duo and their struggles to rise to fame and maintain a presence in an era where a racially mixed group was not the norm. Nev adores Opal from the moment he meets her and would do anything to make their partnership successful. The truth of how far he would go is recounted throughout the story of their rise and fall in popularity.

The story is narrated in a series of interviews and news clips with all of the parties surrounding their musical career. Opal and Nev each tell their own stories to Sunny, the editor of a music magazine who is also the daughter of their former drummer. A drummer who is killed during their most famous show and the circumstances that lead to that death and the repercussions of it are the meat of the story. We see the harsh truth of prejudice and racism in their day to day interactions with their label, other musicians, their fans and one another. The truth that defined their success and every aspect of their lives after stardom is slowly revealed and will leave you shaking your head in frustration.

The last third of the book dragged a bit for me. I am not sure I get some of the allusions to Daisy Jones other than in narrative style. Daisy was all about drama and attitude while this story dealt with real substantial cultural issues.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC! I was interested in this book as soon as I saw the comparisons to <i> Daisy and the Six</i>. However the only things these two stories have in common are the format and the time period they are set in.

Opal and Nev is about so much more than just the inner dynamics of a rock band. Nev, a carrot top Brit, comes to America to chase is rock and roll dreams. However, his record label feels he needs someone to sing with. He goes on a search for a duet partner and meets Opal, a black girl from Detroit. Opal isn't conventionally pretty or even a great singer, but she has a star quality that people are instantly drawn to. Nev writes an album worth of songs and they record it. The release does not receive the acclaim they hope for and they are depressed. In the mean time the label finds another band to sign. This band is from Florida and are very proud of their southern roots. When the label puts together a showcase for all their bands to perform at things go very wrong. The new band waves around a Confederate flag making Opal extremely upset, and rightfully so. A riot ensues that has deadly consequences. Now it's 2016 and Opal is considering a reunion with Nev. Enter Sunny, a journalist who has a personal stake in that long ago riot. Opal wants her to write a book about that time and what followed.

This was extremely well written. Walton does an excellent job of showing the underlying racism in America culture. I did feel sometimes it had too many extra details and wandered from the main story. However the writing was engaging and the story felt fresh. I look forward to reading more of her work!

If you enjoy books set in the music world and stories with strong female leads then check this out when it hits shelves at the end of March 2021!

Remember VH1’s “Where Are They Now?” And/or “Behind The Music”? That’s exactly what this book is! It’s an interview-style retelling of a musical career as told by the industry insiders and the main characters dishing out the scoop of what went right and how it fell apart. The juicy tabloid-type stuff fans love to hear. Music lovers and/or fans of “Daisy Jones & the Six” will enjoy this new fictional story from Dawnie Walton!

With the unique descriptions of Opal’s wardrobe and the tough-as-nails fierce appearance I kept envisioning Opal to look like Grace Jones! I was convinced Opal & Nev were real-life performers that I somehow never heard of! There’s many references to recognizable names from the entertainment industry which adds to the fun of bringing the characters to life. The tragedy the book focuses on, also is very realistic and well developed, again leaving me feeling as if it really happened and somehow I never heard about it.

To sum it up, this fictional story set-up in an interview-style retelling has so many perceived truths it’s impossible not to be a star-struck fan sucked into the re-telling of something great that just missed its mark. If you enjoyed Daisy Jones, you’re going to LOVE “The Final Review of Opal & Nev.”

Thank you to #NetGalley #DawnieWalton and #Simon&Schuster for the chance to read The Final Revival of Opal and Nev in exchange for an honest review.