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jane_moriarty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Feral Girl Summer: book edition. Do you remember the days when you ran around with a crew of kids, never anything to do, always in the way of the grown-ups and still invisible at the same time? The horizon of your neighbourhood so narrow and yet the world of the adults so mysterious?
This book perfectly conveys the feeling of those days. It feels more like a movie (maybe a Harmony Korine one?), drifting through the setting of endless Florida summer with dark clouds gathering, seen through the collective eyes of a group of thirteen year old girls who keep a close watch on everything happening in their neighbourhood. While the girls seem to understand more about the events than the adults around them, they are at the same time cut off from forming a full picture, the way children are.
Maybe this discrepancy is the reason why it seems like the book has no plot. We are left with a hazy feeling and a vague grasp of what seems to have happened. The inbetween chapters from the girls grown-up (very depressing) perspective hardly change that. I think I would have liked less metaphors and more plot resolutions, but the descriptions of the weirdness of girlhood and the Florida Gothic Ethel Cain vibes were so so good, the writing just sucked me in. Next Dizz Tate publication will be preordered.
This book perfectly conveys the feeling of those days. It feels more like a movie (maybe a Harmony Korine one?), drifting through the setting of endless Florida summer with dark clouds gathering, seen through the collective eyes of a group of thirteen year old girls who keep a close watch on everything happening in their neighbourhood. While the girls seem to understand more about the events than the adults around them, they are at the same time cut off from forming a full picture, the way children are.
Maybe this discrepancy is the reason why it seems like the book has no plot. We are left with a hazy feeling and a vague grasp of what seems to have happened. The inbetween chapters from the girls grown-up (very depressing) perspective hardly change that. I think I would have liked less metaphors and more plot resolutions, but the descriptions of the weirdness of girlhood and the Florida Gothic Ethel Cain vibes were so so good, the writing just sucked me in. Next Dizz Tate publication will be preordered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury
jadeelizaerrez's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is very much a ‘not for everyone’ type book, but it really hit for me. Tate’s beautiful, lyrical, mysterious prose compelled me. I think she created a swirling, mesmerizing portrait. It cast light on the beauty and ugliness of girlhood, of Florida, of class struggle, of hope.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
brotestantethic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Best read of the year so far. I’m not understanding why other reviews say this book doesn’t have a plot. It can be a bit confusing and separated, but there is a clear plot. Brutes is honest to the primal wants of the thirteen year old girl. I loved how the girls moved in a pack, “we” being the primary pronoun used throughout the book besides in the characters’ future spotlights and during Jody’s assault. The use of we and then lack thereof is central to the novel’s themes of sameness and apartness.
This is a book about surviving written for survivors of violence. The most gutting and realistic depiction of retaliatory anger lives in Britney’s chapter, pages 117 to 127. I was then surprised to find it was Jody in the room at the end. There’s a lot of inconsistencies like that, such as what Mia tells Christian about paying for the services, which contributes further to the morphed perspective many survivors have after an event.
I was not surprised to learn Tate grew up in Florida. The text reads like a conflicted love letter to her hometown. There are some truly beautiful disgusting descriptions of the Floridian landscape.
Ending will take some time to digest, for sure!
This is a book about surviving written for survivors of violence. The most gutting and realistic depiction of retaliatory anger lives in
I was not surprised to learn Tate grew up in Florida. The text reads like a conflicted love letter to her hometown. There are some truly beautiful disgusting descriptions of the Floridian landscape.
Ending will take some time to digest, for sure!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
kpcrossy's review
3.0
3/5 ⭐️: dark coming of age story that follows a gang of five girls and a queer boy (the titular ‘brutes’) in small-town Florida. When a young girl called Sammy disappears, the ‘brutes’ watch their neighbours mobilise to search for her, all the while harbouring a secret: they know where Sammy is, but they’re so unsuspecting that no-one believes them. It took me a while to get into this, as the story is (mostly) told in first-person plural. There are chapters set in the future, allowing each member of the group an individual voice to look back on the summer when Sammy disappeared. I found the story difficult to follow when the narrative splintered off, since there was no individual character development up until that point. I also couldn’t get my head around its supernatural elements, and by the end I had no idea what was happening! Having said that, I think this is just one of those books that leaves you wondering. I liked that this story took a different and unexpected approach to the ‘coming of age in a small town’ trope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault
halftimelord's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A weird book, but I liked it! I wasn't too invested in the central mystery, and I'm still pondering over the final scene, but it creates such a good atmosphere I was happy to come along for the ride and view the world through these characters' eyes. The use of "we" instead of "I" and talking from the perspective of the group was really effective - it was very haunting when the view shifted at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
rubyyblu's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault
catmac91's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
madelinequinnee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The epitome of no plot just vibes. I enjoyed the prose of this book, and the setting was very appealing to someone who loves that ‘ethel cain southern gothic’ vibe, but i was confused the entire time i was reading this and i’m not sure if it was in a good or bad way? That may have been the point of the book, that girlhood and growing up is a confusing experience, so if that’s the case then i absolutely got that, but if it wasn’t then i have no idea what the point of the story was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
hoestoevsky's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Trafficking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
cvallet's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault