Reviews with content warning for Rape - Gutter Child

This was a good book for a debut novel, but it had a few issues that made me not able to love it, which is too bad as I so wanted to love it!

The book is about a world that is divided into two peoples; the mainlanders and the gutter people. We follow our main character and her coming of age story and the hardships and realizations you make as you grow up and learn about the world around you.

The setting mimics the history of Canada and Australia, which I thought was a really cool plot for a book. It supposed to be dystopian, but it mimics almost exactly what happened to the Indigenous people of those countries. The invasion, colonization, systemic and institutionalized racism, slavery, kidnapping, poverty, sex trafficking, and systems of oppression.

it's a fast paced book and it does get you to think about the world around you. The plot mostly kept me engaged, but about half way through I did find the book lost a lot of steam because the concepts and themes were almost too dumbed down for me.

the book felt young, like it's supposed to be geared towards YA, which is I think why it felt slow in the middle. The plot was alright, but the characters and their interactions/conversations and the writing itself felt like it was geared towards a younger audience. And the characters themselves are young so I had a hard time connecting with them.

I feel I already know and read a lot about this topic, so the way it's presented in this book, it really didn't add anything for me, despite how promising it felt.

That being said I think this would make a great YA novel for high school students and realizing that what happened to the Indigenous people can sound like a dystopian novel. It's a great intro into the history of the indigenous people as you can make so many comparatives while still keeping them engaged.

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teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

4.0

For the longest time, I wasn't drawn to this book. But I am not really sure why. It was available to borrow from my library as an ebook, so I picked it out for Black History Month. And wow, wow, wow! It was not what I was expecting, but was so much more. I feel Richardson has a masterpiece on her hands. I truly don't know what more to say. It was beautifully done all around. Not an easy read, but an important one that frames injustice in a whole new light. Please read it and don't sit on it like I did.

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deejavu's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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deandra_lalonde's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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thatsssorachael's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

I got this book through my SweetReads book subscription box, I had never heard of it before. This isn't something I normally would have picked up on my own, but I am glad to have read it.

The first third of the novel is slooooooow, and with my reading slump it took me a while to get through that. But as soon as she leaves her academy, things pick up and I was really invested. I did find the dialogue to be stilted in parts, but in other parts it flowed really well. The writing was good, and I found myself enjoying reading for the sake of reading more than being invested in the characters. That being said, the characters were all well-rounded, and they had excellent character development.

This author is not afraid to take things very dark, and I think that's why this is pitched and marketed as an adult book as opposed to YA. It would have excellent crossover appeal though, but for the right teenager. There's a lot of loss in these pages, and it can be shocking.

I think this is a good social justice novel, but I wish the world was built a bit clearer from the get go. I found the first few chapters pretty confusing as it's just a cold open into a world that isn't ours. I would have liked more of a crash course before she even got to the school, but I understand where the author was going with that. This book will be a huge winner for some, so if it sounds interesting to you, definitely give it a go.

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annabend's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

4.5

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jfriend_3's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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