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

This was my second reading of this book, and I wish I'd known how I felt about it the first time so I could compare how I felt then/now, but I only vaguely remembered reading it in the first place. I'd say it was worth reading again. It is a quick, heartfelt novel, centering around racism, murder, child abuse, and grief. The spirituality and symbolism is what draws you in and keeps you reading with The Things She's Seen. While I feel like with any other 'mystery' novel, the conclusion would have been obvious from the start, the symbolism with colors and crows and Fetchers from Catching's perspective keeps the mystery alive. At times the novel unravels in a rather convoluted manner, however I feel as though it was a great way to approach some of the darker secrets revealed in the novel.

"...He'd say there was no such thing as monsters. There were ... But [we] had only seen the men."

The story has the capability of moving you if you approach it with the right mindset, or if you enjoy a book that runs a little off skew to the typical mystery novel.

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rosyapple's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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skybluespines's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Deeply moving. This YA novel deals with such heavy topics skillfully and creatively. I have trauma around car accidents and death, and didn't realize that would be part of the story, but handled sensitively and was not as triggering as I thought it would be. The other (much heavier) topics in the book were also handled with beautiful sensitivity, giving voice to victims in a way that was artistic, for lack of a better word. Grateful for this read.

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jadejade's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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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awkwardimagination's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

3.75

This is an ghost story about grief and hope. It spans across the past and present to create this nonlinear, multigenerational story about Aboriginal women/girls. The beginning to middle was kinda mediocre - interesting but not anything great. The middle to end was were it started to hit and I started having fun (for lack of better word) with reading, sleuthing out the meaning behind Catching's story. Speaking of Catching, there is something special about her character that I love. She gets straight to the point and her chapters are written in a nontraditional way that reflects her personality well. Beth herself was kind of annoying at times, but it was forgivable considering her circumstances and wasn't something I hated. I liked this book much better than I thought I would despite the bland start because eventhough I was a little bored with it, it was still intriguing to read. I say give this a try if youre looking for something fast to read. Not something light, fast because this book is dark.

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jane_at_jam's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Addresses intergenerational trauma, First Nations peoples and stolen generations, ties the past with the present and ongoing racism, abuse and neglect.

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allisonsmith120's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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euphemiajo's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-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

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