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quaillady's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
Well plotted procedural with truly unique cast of characters. Ms. Emerson's indigenous lens is unique and gives us powerful complex characters that are engaging from page one. A gem but also graphic so not for everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, and Addiction
cemetereality's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Every moment spent between Rita and her Grandmother are so deeply moving that you can put aside how rushed the other portions are. The details of the crime scenes and original story start off so clear and compelling. It gets jumbled and we end without feeling finished or getting answers. I highly recommend reading Shutter, because the moments of familial joy and pain are palpable. It’s a beautiful and moving story the moments with her grandfather’s ghost radiating warm light around her room… I could cry thinking about their relationship. Rita and her grandmother going through the trunk of painful memories was heartbreaking, but also a beautiful moment of understanding between them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Gun violence, and Grief
phantasmaboo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
3.0
Shutter follows Rita, a young Navajo (Diné) woman who works as a forensic photographer at a police station. Rita, however, is plagued by ghosts and has been since her infancy. Things take a turn when a particularly stubborn ghost won't let Rita go until she has helped solve her murder.
I wanted to like this book so badly, and I did like most of it, but it really fell apart in the final 25% or so. Unlike the book description, the book is largely character-driven, exploring Rita's past and how she came to be the person is today. That being said, I had a hard time reconciling the Rita in the present with the Rita in the past. They seemed like two very different people rather than a person who grew into the other. The portions of the book written in the past were so touching and deep while the present portions seemed surface-level, dry, and patchy. Overall, the writing was just uneven.
Finally, the plot wasn't all that surprising to me, but the way the ending was written was like the author simply wanted the book to end. The characters became nonsensical farces of themselves and it makes their behavior very unbelievable. For example, going to a nightclub and getting high after witnessing a murder It really lost me at the end and I wish that the modern portions had as much depth as the portions where Rita was a child.
Overall, I give it 3 stars. I would definitely read more by this author again, but I hope that in the future their writing becomes more even.
I wanted to like this book so badly, and I did like most of it, but it really fell apart in the final 25% or so. Unlike the book description, the book is largely character-driven, exploring Rita's past and how she came to be the person is today. That being said, I had a hard time reconciling the Rita in the present with the Rita in the past. They seemed like two very different people rather than a person who grew into the other. The portions of the book written in the past were so touching and deep while the present portions seemed surface-level, dry, and patchy. Overall, the writing was just uneven.
Finally, the plot wasn't all that surprising to me, but the way the ending was written was like the author simply wanted the book to end. The characters became nonsensical farces of themselves and it makes their behavior very unbelievable. For example,
Overall, I give it 3 stars. I would definitely read more by this author again, but I hope that in the future their writing becomes more even.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Addiction and Colonisation
maregred's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Racism and Grief
Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, Dementia, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
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