Reviews with content warning for Slavery - 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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siobhanward's review against another edition

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emotional 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

Another reviewer mentioned that they thought this might have made a better YA book than general fiction, and I'm inclined to agree. While the plot was great and well-developed, sometimes the characters were young to a point that it was frustrating (but in their defence, they're teenagers). It would also be a great YA book in schools - a great jumping off point for studying institutionalized racism, colonization, slavery and systems of oppression. Richardson tells her story effectively through allegory, and breaks your heart while doing it.

This was a strong read for sure, although I did struggle with the characters and how jumpy the plot felt at times. I definitely look forward to reading more from Richardson.

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kay_greene's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-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? No

4.75

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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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whatcassiedid's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

The ending felt a little too rushed to be five stars but very good aside from that.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

Title: Gutter Child
Author: Jael Richardson
Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: January 26 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Haunting • Raw • Original

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Set in the dystopian world of a nation divided into the privileged Mainland and the policed Gutter, Jael Richardson's debut tells the story of Elimina, one of 100 Gutter children taken to be raised in the Mainland as part of a social experiment. Following the death of her Mainland mother, her life is completely upended when she finds herself living a life of servitude. Gutter Child explores a fractured world of disadvantage and injustice that is all too real, and is a timely story of both perseverance and bravery, and of strength and survival.

💭 T H O U G H T S

My expectations going into this one were sky high given its popularity, and that certainly could have impacted my experience with it. I absolutely see its merits, and commend Jael Richardson on such a fierce debut. However, I didn't love it.

The parallels to the real world cannot be ignored. It is very well written, and heavy novel with strong themes and an in depth exploration of race, class, privilege, identity and colonization guaranteed to spark discussion. Where I couldn't get on board is in the structure. The dialogue at times seemed repetitive, and outside of Elimina, I felt the character development was lacking. It felt more to me like a YA dystopian than anything else. Finally, the ending felt so rushed, which I now understand may be due to the fact there's talk of a sequel. With all this being said, this is a timely, heart-breaking and important book, that will have me thinking long after I've finished it.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Book clubs
• fans of YA dystopian
• readers who enjoy a good coming of cage story

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

" 'Purpose gets you through whatever comes.' "

" 'We didn't plan this or ask for this. But we ended up here anyway. And all we can do it try to survive.' "

"When I drew pictures of mother and me, I used Peach for her and Chestnut for myself. 'Why is your skin named after something soft and sweet and mine is something hard and bitter?' 'Because you are so much tougher,' she said. I thought that was a very good answer. And maybe it's true. But I am forced to be tough. It takes a particular kind of strength to exist in a world where you are not wanted that doesn't feel like strength at all. Like giving up or giving in would be easier, smarter even. Maybe that is my chestnut, my toughness. The fact that I am still here."

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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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