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mynameisrebecca's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Racism, Gore, Murder, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Xenophobia
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
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