A review by soobooksalot
Gutter Child by Jael Richardson

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

Gutter Child is both alarming and fascinating in it's depiction of a dystopian alternate reality. 
Elimina Dubois lives in a nation divided into the Mainland and Gutter. She was raised in the Mainland despite being destined for the Gutter. When her mother passes, she is sent to an academy intended to prepare Gutter children to work in a trade to pay off their debt to society. 
I went into this fairly blind and it took me awhile to wrap my head into the depicted system and characters, but once the story took an unexpected turn, I was hooked!
I don't read a lot of dystopian fiction, but it's always so interesting to become part of a world with features and experiences that so mirror our own.
Canadian debut author Jael Richardson has created an unforgettable tale with parallels to issues of colonialism, race, class, of society's have and have-nots, of rising up against the system.
Recommended!
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