Reviews - Gutter Child | The StoryGraph

345 reviews for:

Gutter Child

Jael Richardson

3.92 AVERAGE

amandamagdic's review

4.0

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

In Gutter Child, Richardson writes a poignant look at race and segregation that resonates with current world events. Written in a dystopian setting, we are brought into two worlds. The mainland for the privileged white people who came and took over the island, and the gutter - home to the dark skinned natives who were oppressed.

Our heroine Elimina ( or Lima), grows up on the mainland as a project child knowing she's different but not realizing the drastic differences between the classes. This all changes when as a teen her "mother" passes away and she's sent to am institution to learn job skills to help work off her "debt" to society. Having been told nothing of the Gutter System growing up this comes as a surprise to our MC and thrusts her into a whole unknown world of inequality.

Written in more of a YA format than adult fiction, this book takes a deep look at colonialism, racism, and injustice concurrent with the world today. It explores coming of age and choosing for ones self what you want from your life. It's a heart wrenching tale that will make you take pause and think. This was my first book by Richardson but it won't be my last.

Content Warnings

shawnita's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

periop_bookie's review

4.5

adventurous emotional reflective 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: Complicated

thatsssorachael's review

3.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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: Complicated

I got this book through my SweetReads book subscription box, I had never heard of it before. This isn't something I normally would have picked up on my own, but I am glad to have read it.

The first third of the novel is slooooooow, and with my reading slump it took me a while to get through that. But as soon as she leaves her academy, things pick up and I was really invested. I did find the dialogue to be stilted in parts, but in other parts it flowed really well. The writing was good, and I found myself enjoying reading for the sake of reading more than being invested in the characters. That being said, the characters were all well-rounded, and they had excellent character development.

This author is not afraid to take things very dark, and I think that's why this is pitched and marketed as an adult book as opposed to YA. It would have excellent crossover appeal though, but for the right teenager. There's a lot of loss in these pages, and it can be shocking.

I think this is a good social justice novel, but I wish the world was built a bit clearer from the get go. I found the first few chapters pretty confusing as it's just a cold open into a world that isn't ours. I would have liked more of a crash course before she even got to the school, but I understand where the author was going with that. This book will be a huge winner for some, so if it sounds interesting to you, definitely give it a go.

Content Warnings