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dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Not the best to ever do it, but love fiction about weird girls
slow-paced
“Our mothers call us brutes when they want us to feel bad. It is what they call men they do not like, like our dads.”
Picked this one up because a YouTuber/BookTuber I liked mentioned it in a video about books about crazy people? Or obsession? Or something? And we got a copy at my job so I was like sure let’s check it out!!
Set in a swampy small town in Florida, I thought Brutes could also be a good summer read! It kinda was! It definitely fit the bill for the setting, hot and gross and always near the water. Going to the mall. Never being home, always out with your friends.
However… I feel like I barely know what happened. Lol… ? Reading other reviews it definitely appears that I am not at all alone in this at least. It was very vibey, I do love unhinged, weird, obsessive girls. I was intrigued by this group of friends that moves and speaks like a single organism and they’re all completely obsessed with some of the local older teenagers. Some relatable aspects there for sure!
The book begins by revealing that a local girl is missing, and The Girls have been obsessed with her, and I did enjoy spending the whole book waiting to find out if and how the girls were involved in the disappearance. There was some lovely prose throughout as well! But for the most part I was just kinda bored and wondering what was going on and why I should care. Worth mentioning I am not a nonsense hater either, many of my faves are “no plot just vibes” books according to many, but this one just didn’t really resonate with me unfortunately.
The first half of this book I would've given 4 stars, but the second half was an absolute flop
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Weird! I liked it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail
usually in books you understand the literal events that occur but miss the subtext. somehow this book was the opposite?? i couldn’t tell you a single thing that actually happened but at the same time i completely understood it??
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i liked maybe but i’m also not sure i was quite confused
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced