The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
eicart_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Racism, Colonisation, and Grief
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Drug use, Animal death, Terminal illness, and Bullying
butilikeit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use
awebofstories's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Gun violence, Drug use, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Police brutality
sasisaskia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Drug use
bzliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I donât really feel like I know Rita even after finishing the book. Photography seems to run in her blood- her mother and grandmother also were bit by the bug- but I have no clue if she has a passion for it or if she does it but sheâs good at it. Part of me thinks her lack of personality is showing readers how drained she is by the ghosts who haunt her.Â
The descriptions can get grisly, particularly right at the beginning and at the judgeâs house. The action takes a big backseat until the last third of the book when it really pops off. I was a little surprised by the ending because
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Medical content, Drug use, Body horror, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
mayhem9683's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Murder, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, and Eating disorder
j_squaredd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Child death, Death, Murder, Gore, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, Car accident, Kidnapping, and Drug use
jourdanicus's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
The story was propulsive, with believable (if not overly deep) characters and a fairly tight plot. I enjoyed the back and forth timeline. Aspects of Navajo beliefs, culture, and family history/life were woven in to a crime drama which didn't rely too heavily on trope.
I'd recommend to anyone who has a strong stomach for gore, appreciates a "gritty," dry female protagonist, and/or whose guilty pleasure is police procedurals but agrees with ACAB.
Edit/note: read ebook + listened to audiobook
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Gore, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Colonisation, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Gun violence, Gore, Violence, Murder, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment, Drug use, Racism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Child death, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexual content, Stalking, and Pregnancy
deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
TL;DR REVIEW:
Shutter is a fast-paced, character-driven paranormal thriller that doesnât quite knock it out of the park, but does some interesting things and definitely holds your attention.
For you if: You donât mind gore and want to read more genre fiction by Indigenous authors.
FULL REVIEW:
Shutter is a fast-paced, Indigenous, paranormal thriller that was longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction this year. While a lot of people are ranking it last on the list (including, probably, me) and scratching their heads about its nomination, I do think it does some interesting things that are worth talking about.
The story is about a Navajo woman named Rita who takes forensic photos for the Albuquerque police department for a living. She can also see and talk to ghosts â has for her whole life. We jump back and forth between the present day, where one womanâs ghost pushes Rita into the thick of some dangerous corruption in order to solve her murder, and the past, as Rita was raised by her grandmother on a reservation, fell in love with cameras, and struggled with a gift that was feared (and often, understandably, disbelieved) by her community.
The thing about this book is that it doesnât quite feel like literary fiction but also doesnât quite feel like a thriller, which is why I think itâs leaving readers on both sides a little underwhelmed. It wasnât really a mystery, at least not to us as readers; thereâs no big twist to the present-day storyline, just a steady build to an explosive ending. Still, it does have momentum (I read it in one afternoon, aided by the audiobook).
I think the chapters set in the past are the ones that earned this book its NBA nomination; Emerson really explores a lot in these sections about home and community, childhood trauma, an absent mother, and how we can escape our ghosts (literally and metaphorically) while still carrying our loved ones with us â especially using photography as a way to do both.
One last thing to note: Be aware that the opening chapter of this book has some pretty lengthy, graphic descriptions of pieces of a dead body scattered all over the ground. It was a notable opening, but kind of a lot.
Anyway, if youâre curious about this one, I think itâs worth picking up just to challenge your notion of genre and look for the things the NBA judges found. Itâs a quick read regardless!
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, and Drug use