Thank you so much for an arc of Gutter Child by Jael Richardson.

This. Book! It is so good. I think that it should be required reading. You immediately are invested in the lives of the characters. This book discussions colonialism and generational trauma in a way for students can find accessible and provide a great starting point to discuss the parallels in our world today.

Wonderful writing. Fantastic characters. Can’t wait to read more from Richardson

The story is very intriguing. The idea is steeped in history of our own societies and how black people have been treated throughout time. Joel does an awesome job of making you love the girls and want to cheer for them and all the students. Very easy reading, hard to put down at times. One of the best books of the year.
#GutterChild #NetGalley

We're less than halfway through the year, but Gutter Child already has a place on my top reads list.

This book is powerful and impacted me to my core. It should be on reading lists at schools everywhere (and really for everyone, everywhere).

Gutter Child tells the story of five teens who meet at the Livingstone Academy on the Mainland. The children come from the Gutter, where people are controlled and have little freedoms. They attend the academy to learn to work and ultimately are auctioned off to employers so they can work to pay off debts with the hopes of achieving Redemption Freedom. Elimina is at the core of this story and she will have a place in my favourite characters list forever.
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This book will make you think. It calls you to not forget about what society has done to BIPOC under the banner of colonization and continues to do today. It's also full of hope and exceptionally well-written with world building that jumps off the page and characters that stay in your heart.

While considered dystopian fiction the book's world feels pretty realistic to today's society.

Read this book. Share this book.

An incredible coming of age debut novel that provides an unflinching look at power and injustice. From the characters, to the plot, to the writing, it is a page turning read that leaves feeling the struggle to remain hopeful when all seems impossible.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Gutter Child was a fascinating and amazing book by Canadian author Jael Richardson. This is Richardson’s first novel, preceded only by her memoir, The Stone Thrower. I had not heard much about this book before it’s release. It was from Richardson herself that I heard of it. She was leading a discussion on the 2020 Canadian Reads competition on her Instagram feed, and it was there that she mentioned her forthcoming book next year. I did not look into what the book was about–not even its genre. However, I ordered it and requested in on NetGalley to review because of how much I appreciated her discussion on the Canada Reads novels. Fast forward to 2021 and imagine my surprise upon learning that this was the type of science fiction light dystopia that I really like in books. For whatever reason, I was expecting some mundane narrative, historical or contemporary. I was thrilled to learn it was more speculative because of how thought provoking these types of books often are. Right away, I realized this was going to be an awesome book from the writing to genre and topic.

The book is set in a fictional world with similarities to our own. The Gutter people are a group of indigenous people who were colonized by a Euro-type settler. By the time our story begins, we see the Gutter people segregated and discriminator against, forced to live as slaves to work off the debt their ancestors accrued when they fought back against the settlers. Our perspective follows that of a young girl who was taken from the Gutter people and given to one of the Colonizers to raise as their own. There are heavy racial themes in this book, and I believe our main character is brown skinned. However, race is not the key identifier for this caste system. Rather, Gutter people have marks embedded on their hands.

The story follows our young protagonist as she’s forced to learn the truth of her world, a truth she has been shielded from by her adoptive mother. The story is fast paced and depressing. As our main character learns the truths of her world so do we. This book is an analysis of the horrors done by colonizers throughout history, to bother black and indigenous peoples. In fact, some of the ideas explored are of crimes that are, at best, only recently stopped. It’s this mirroring of real world issues–both modern and historical–that really makes the book shine.

Since I read the book, I’ve heard several great reviews. Njeri from ONYX Pages review is one checking out for sure (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZOmpEusqNQ&ab_channel=ONYXPages)!

I'm not even sure if this review will do this book justice.... It was more than fantastic. Gutter Child took difficult topics such as intergenerational trauma, colonialization, institutional racism, etc and craftily weaved these topics into a compelling story. LOVED this book.

“When it comes to beauty, don’t go looking for your reflection in someone else’s mirror. You hear me? You are lovely as you are.”

Gutter Child is a story of resilience and navigating an oppressive system that is guarantees your failure if you’re from the Gutter. The story follows Elimina, one of the 100 babies who were taken from the Gutter to the Mainland to be raised as a Mainlander as an experiment sponsored by the Mainland government. However, when her mother dies Elimina is sent to an academy with new rules and life of servitude that she is unfamiliar with. Being confronted by the life as Gutter child and unexpected turns in her Elimina must find a way to navigate a system that is built for her and others like her to fail.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, particularly the intricacies of the world that Richardson has built that has many parallels to reality that is chilling and awakening. It’s a timely novel and insightful in the way institutions are often built for failure for minorities in order to maintain a status quo.

Jael Richardson has written a heartbreaking and well-written book that pulls on colonial and racial histories into a fictional world with not so fictional policies. I completely recommend this to anyone looking for a dystopian novel with Canadian roots.

Delighted to include this novel as a spotlight title in the Books section of Zoomer magazine (print edition).

Gutter Child takes place in an imagined alternate reality in which people live in either the privileged Mainland or the Gutter, whereby they are forced to buy their freedom by working off their debt to society (a debt they are born into). Elimina Dubois was destined for the Gutter but, as part of an experiment, ended up being adopted by a Mainlander. When her mother dies Elimina is sent to an academy where she befriends Gutter children and discovers that she too will now be forced to make her way through the Gutter System, doing whatever she can to survive.

This was my first dystopian novel and I am so glad I picked it up as this book is incredible!

A both compelling and painful read, it was unfortunately too easy to imagine a world in which such a situation could become reality and the parallels between the world we live in today and Elemina’s world were both heartbreaking and thought provoking. I strongly believe this book should be taught in every high school!

I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Gutter Child is a complex novel set in a dystopian society where there are two groups: the Mainlanders and the Gutter people. Elimina was taken as an infant from her mom and sent to live with a Mainlander who raised her. When her mother dies, she is sent to an academy, prepping her for a life of work. Gutter people are indebted to Mainlanders until they reach Redemption Freedom - an almost impossible task, especially when debt can be carried down for generations. Elimina learns she was part of a social experiment, and the only child out of 100 to survive.

I was a quarter of the way through before I realized this story is written by a local author from Brampton, Ontario! The synopsis above doesn’t do justice to the complexity of this novel and it is definitely well worth the read. There are so many parallels to current injustices in the world, and the fight to be heard and seen. I enjoyed the characters and the plot, and though the main characters are teens, I think the issues within lends itself a novel suitable for both young adults and adults. I can see the potential for an additional novel. That being said, I would have preferred a different ending, with more answers and one that didn’t leave the reader hanging. Overall, a worthwhile read in my opinion!

The nation is divided into the wealthy Mainland and the policed Gutter. Elimina was taken from her mother in the Gutter and raised in the Mainland. She didn’t get to live a privileged life because her adopted mom was always protecting her from the prejudices of the Mainland. After her mother dies, Elimina is sent to an Academy where she will be trained for a life of servitude. Elimina was raised on the Mainland so she doesn’t fit in with the other Gutter children in the Academy, which is further enforced when she gets put in a position of power in the school. Then, Elimina’s life takes an unexpected turn that leads her back to the Gutter. She must find the strength to keep going and stand up to the injustices that she faces.

This was a coming of age story set in a dystopian that has roots in history. Elimina had a youthful innocence when she arrived at the Academy. She hadn’t had much experience with people from the Gutter, even though that was where she was born. She is suddenly forced to grow up after her mom dies and she meets friends with horrific backgrounds. The story takes place over a couple of years, but Elimina has to become an adult during those years.

This story had strong themes of systematic racism and slavery. The children were purchased by employers and had to work off their debt to society to earn their freedom. However, most people didn’t ever earn that freedom no matter how hard they worked. Elimina was right between the Gutter and the Mainland since she grew up on the Mainland but was born in the Gutter. She had experience in the Mainland but she didn’t know much about the Gutter despite being born there. Elimina was in a unique position to bridge the gap between the two societies.

Many parts of this story were difficult to read. Some possible content triggers are racism, abuse, rape, death in childbirth, and suicide. Though these are difficult things to read about, they are part of the history of racism that this story was about. It’s important to read stories like this to learn how to change in the future.

This is a beautiful debut from Jael Richardson, the founder of the Festival of Literary Diversity!

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

GUTTER CHILD is set in an imaginary world. Forced to leave their land the Mainlanders migrate to the Sunset Coast already inhabited by the Sossi people. The Sossi people soon find themselves displaced and their land overtaken by the powerful and united Mainlanders.
After a war the Mainlanders establish the Gutter system. In order to be free the inhabitants of the Gutter are required to work to pay off a debt established at birth.
A special project sees 100 babies born in the Gutter taken from their mothers and given to Mainlanders. Elimina Dubois was one of those babies. Elimina lives a sheltered life until Mother’s untimely death. Still a teenager Elimina is sent to an academy run by Mainlanders to complete her education.
Life at the academy comes as quite a shock to Elimina. She soon learns about the Gutter and realties of the divided world she lives in.
Elimina is an amazing character. Strong and independent she seeks freedom from her debt. Events come into play that make Elimina reevaluate her priorities.
GUTTER CHILD is a beautifully written book. The story is compelling from start to finish. GUTTER CHILD takes place in an imaginary dystopian world and Jael Richardson brings the setting to life.
I loved this book and highly recommend reading it. I hope to see it on multiple award lists in the Fall.
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for providing an early reader’s digital edition of GUTTER CHILD.

Gutter Child is a 2021 must-read! This book should be on school reading lists everywhere! Read this one in your Zoom book clubs this year!

It reads easily like a mature YA novel, but while it reads easily the content is heavy. It is relevant and fresh while being about colonial and systemic racism which is still going on in our society.

To start, you must understand that there are many key players and groups in the novel: Mainlanders, Sossi, and The Network, The Hill. The Mainlanders are the privileged people who took over and created the Gutter System, forcing the Sossi people to live away from them, policed, and riddled with debts that they spend their lives paying back. The Hill and Network become more relevant later in the book.

The novel follows Elimina, brave and resilient, in her formative years, while providing the story of her history. While she is different than her peers, she is going through the academy track which is meant to rehabilitate the Gutter Children.

I won’t say more because you should be reading this book right now.

It is a fantastic look at systemic discrimination, racism, and justice. Jael Richardson is a beautiful writer and I absolutely loved reading this novel even when it left me heartbroken and angry throughout the pages.

A dystopian type novel set in at indeterminate time and an unidentified country, it nevertheless feels like it could or has existed. Social commentary and blatant racism is addressed in the struggle of Elimina Dubois. Taken from her mother in a social experiment, she lives in a world where certain people are branded and saddled with their 'freedom' debt that is endlessly never paid. An homage to the human spirit and that hope can still exist.

So excited for this one! Perfect selection for our times. Happy to be able to recommend this title, not just as a Canadian novel, not just as a book exploring diversity, not just as a book that is brave enough to discuss challenging topics like class and race and colonization, but as an important read. Excellent for book clubs, and accessible to mature young adults. Thank you

Great dystopia title that draws on themes of immigration and colonialism. Would work well both for adults as well as mature teen readers.

After reading the premise of this book I quickly put it on my must read of 2021. Gutter Child is a book that examined race, justice and equality. Richardson has created an imaginary world in this story but the reality is this is far from being imaginary. When Elimina's mother dies she is sent to an academy where she learns about her past and is forced back into a life of servitude. The world is divided by a very privileged Mainland and the Gutter where the people are policed and struggle to make ends meet. The people of the Gutter are born into debt and must spend years paying it off until they earn freedom. Some never do. Elimina finds out she was part of a social experiment where she was taken from the Gutter and her birth mom and raised in the Mainland. With no real understanding of her destiny she must take it upon herself to push forward and forge her own way in the world, but that is hard when everything is against you from the start. I really enjoyed this book and found it such an interesting storyline. The ending felt a little rushed for me and I wish it could have played out a more. I wanted to hear more of Elimina's story. I look forward to discussing this book with others as it brings up a lot of issues we see in our own society. This is definitely a book to pick up.

I read the trigger warning and realized I can't finish this yet - I don't have the mental / emotional capacity. But I will one day and appreciate the ARC.

Jael Richardson has written an amazingly strong debut novel. It is a harrowing story centring on a class system that divides people. The Mainlanders, who have all , and the Sossi, a people who are burdened with repayment of a historic debt, meaning they will never rise above indentured servitude. The novel leads us through the hopes, dreams, disappointments, and eventual results that centre on the life of Emilina DuBious. A wonderfully written first novel that should not be missed.

4/5 stars

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In an imagined world where the vulnerable are forced to buy their freedom by working off their debt to society, Gutter Child examines a nation divided by the privileged Mainland and the policed Gutter. Elimina is one of 100 babies that were taken from the Gutter and raised in the Mainland as a part of an experiment led by the Mainland government. When her Mainland mother died, Elimina is forced into a life of servitude and when her life takes another unexpected turn, she realizes that what she needs might not be the freedom she’s wished for all along.

I know that this book is set in an imagined world, but it’s hard to not see the parallels between the story and our reality. I really cared and rooted for Elimina throughout her times of hardship and in moments of strength. Richardson does an incredible job of creating thoughtful and impactful prose while also demonstrating how we can help correct the ways that classism and racism exist in our society. I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed and could have been expanded upon more. Overall though, Gutter Child was an incredible story of perseverance and I highly recommend picking it up!