A review by savvylit
Brutes by Dizz Tate

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

4.0

The collective perspective? Impeccable. The Central Florida setting as character? Humid and palpable. The mysteriousness and obsession? Realistic.

Brutes is a delightful book that is thematically and structurally in conversation with Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides. Teen girls are the central obsession. Readers are only allowed to get to know said girls as far as what is witnessed directly by a group of younger kids in the neighborhood; in Brutes' case, the collective witnesses are also girls themselves.

The only reason this novel isn't five stars for me is that I felt like some of the mysterious elements of this story needed to be better developed. Just when something creepy would happen or begin to happen, there was a jump in scenery. I just wanted fewer loose threads by the time I finished Brutes.

Content Warnings