Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Things She's Seen

This was a fast and interesting read but please check the trigger warnings. It gave me similar vibes to A Monster Calls, which I also enjoyed, but with an Australian Aboriginal voice. Apparently an alternative title for this novella is The Things She's Seen but I think Catching Teller Crow is a more memorable title.

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rockyroadbutch's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-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? No

5.0

Incredible and emotional. Powerful. Using stories and colors, metaphors and realism to tap into core emotional experiences.

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careinthelibrary's review

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I finished The Things She's Seen (known as Catching Teller Crow in some countries) by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina today. It's one I've owned for a while and finally got around to it.

On the surface it's a YA ghost story and mystery, but there is so much bubbling under the surface here. The "enduring strength of Aboriginal women and girls" despite facing disproportionate, horrific violence, the direct and indirect impacts of the Stolen Generations which I want to learn more about, ancient storytelling of Aboriginal peoples. A ghost story, a crime thriller, found sisterhood, father-daughter growing their relationship beyond the barrier of death.

It's a lot wrapped up in a short, fast novel. This hits the ground running and the pace rarely lets up. Its wide array of genres and themes makes me think it would appeal to a lot of different kinds of readers. I wish it had a more striking cover that captured the themes and tone of the book better.

Death is only the beginning. And the end is the beginning that hasn't happened yet.

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isabel_c's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

This was cute and I really liked the last 25% especially when we see the links of aboriginal heritage in the main characters. Overall this book was not my favorite but I do appreciate the way in which the authors made the dark side of aboriginal history more accessible to a younger audience.

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lrocke's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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? Yes

5.0

Catching Teller Crow follows two young Aboriginal women, Beth Teller and Isabelle Catching. Beth died in a car crash several months previously, but her father can still see her. He's a policeman in the city and has been sent to a small town to investigate a fire at a children's home to rule out foul play. They meet Catching, a witness to the fire, who isn't telling them everything she knows. Beth's chapters are in prose, while Catching's are in verse, which I had to reread to make sure I followed it properly as I'm not used to reading in that style. It's a story about the harm colonialism has wrought on the Indigenous people of this country, and the systemic racism that's still perpetuated. It was beautifully written and moving.

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