You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i don’t get it but i GET it, reading this felt like watching a movie, through relatable gifs with little yellow subtitles. nostalgic girlhood, being weird and the collective hive mind that teenage girls share and understand each other without saying anything. i can’t explain it but this book is 2010s tumblr, A24, & nadia lee cohen photography. i feel like i need to re read it slower and think deeper about metaphors to actually understand the finale
So different from my childhood experience, yet there were so many feelings and thoughts that I’d forgotten that are so quintessentially girlhood
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Read this if you enjoy Florida gothic suburbia vibes and Pen15, and were a Tumblr user in the 2010s. Might need to read this a couple times to fully absorb it. Not much of a plot but it's extremely vivid. Like looking at moodboards.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really wanted to like Brutes. The premise sounded right up my street: a tense, atmospheric coming-of-age story set in the sticky heat of Florida, with a group of teenage girls at its heart. But the reality just didn’t live up to the promise.
The writing style is deliberately hazy and fragmented, which I think was meant to feel immersive or poetic, but it ended up being more confusing than compelling. It made it hard to get emotionally invested in what was happening or to really understand who these girls were beyond vague impressions.
There are some interesting themes in here – power, obsession, the weirdness of adolescence, and the nature of girlhood – but they get lost in all the style. I kept waiting for it to build into something more grounded or emotionally sharp, but it never quite got there.
In the end, it felt like the book was trying too hard to be mysterious and profound, and it just left me cold. A good concept with some lovely lines, but not enough to hold onto.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced