Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

13 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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

4.5

This is an exceptionally gory and gritty mystery narrated by a Navajo crime scene photographer who converses with the ghosts of the dead. She has seen ghosts her whole life but now they pester her incessantly to solve their murders. 

Outside of the violence, it’s a beautiful portrayal of Navajo connections between family and friends, describing the community, history, and culture. We see the insular life on the reservation and the casual discrimination of the cities. 

Rita is a sympathetic character, plagued by the ghosts, struggling to find a balance between staying with her beloved grandma on the reservation and the necessary work she does in Albuquerque. 

Two very small quibbles: I wasn’t convinced that she’d have that much influence as a civilian working for the police, and I found Erma’s aggression extreme. But I’ve never seen ghosts so I don’t really know what I’m talking about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

winifara's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

leweylibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

It only gets points for the kind of fun setting and indigenous rep, sorry 🤷‍♀️ otherwise I kinda hated it lol.

I did not enjoy reading it, I had to force myself to finish it for a book club, and I had sooo many issues with it that completely took me out of the story. Like her awful friends wtf??? They were horrible and I really hope they weren't inspired by the author's real friends lol. What kind of friends automatically ask if you've murdered someone or destroyed your own apartment?? I wanted to like the supernatural element, and it was one of the few things keeping me interested, but there could've been so much more done with it. I felt like a lot of the conversations, situations, and relationships just made no sense. I truly don't know how this was long listed for the National Book Prize. Like how.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, and Colonisation

Minor: Pedophilia, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Racism, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Xenophobia

cemetereality's review

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Abandonment

eicart_reads's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Racism, Grief, Car accident, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

hayleemarie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

mayhem9683's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Alcohol

j_squaredd's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I think they did a disservice by marketing this book as a thriller. It only gets fast paced and thriller-y in the last quarter. The first three quarters is quite slow with not a lot of plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Alcohol

jourdanicus's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

I was so into this book I bought a copy of it on audio to supplement my library ebook copy. I wanted to get through it. It hooked me from the premise when I saw a hard copy in a book store, I knew I had to read it, and I'm glad I got to.

The story was propulsive, with believable (if not overly deep) characters and a fairly tight plot. I enjoyed the back and forth timeline. Aspects of Navajo beliefs, culture, and family history/life were woven in to a crime drama which didn't rely too heavily on trope.

I'd recommend to anyone who has a strong stomach for gore, appreciates a "gritty," dry female protagonist, and/or whose guilty pleasure is police procedurals but agrees with ACAB.

Edit/note: read ebook + listened to audiobook

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol