Brutes felt like a hazy fever dream of a novel, though I found the formatting and writing to be a little confusing. It is written in first person, shifting from a 'we' perspective in the past chapters to an 'I' perspective in other chapters set in the future. Brutes was a bit of a blur for me; it felt like a dream, fragmented and scattered, with no idea what was going on or how we got there. I believe this would work better as a film, where you can see what is happening rather than having to imagine what the author intended. It was unique! What I did love was the imagery and the descriptions of things. This book definitely is one for the senses and fits into the category of Books You Can Smell. Sweet and fruity ring pops, 5-cent candies, vanilla body spray, tropical sunscreen, chlorine, cherry lollipops, freshly cut grass, the hot and sugary, deep fried smells of the carnival. You can hear the grass blowing in the breeze, kids laughing in the streets and canon balling into pools, mom’s laughing while lounging and day-drinking Margaritas, and the sizzle from the barbecue. It gave me subtle Pen15 vibes at times (but not funny), and I can see the Florida Project connection as well. I see it compared to The Virgin Suicides which I have yet to read.

I believe I will need to re-read this book to fully comprehend what was going on. Did I like it? I think so? I liked the coming-of-age story, the nostalgia and mysterious that came with the story, however, the style fell a little flat for me at times. Despite the fact that I had no idea what was going on the entire time, it was an enjoyable read. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC!

Following a group of teen girls and the disappearance of the local pastors daughter, who they all admire. Definitely agree with comparisons of this to The Virgin Suicides, but I finished thinking "so what was the point?" and not in a good way. A little overwritten for more my taste, but this could work for someone that's interested in no plot, all vibes.

Brutes is reminiscent of the Virgin Suicides and follows young girls trying to find answers about a missing girl in their town. Dizz Tate's writing style is interesting- the narrator is a royal "we" and the book is winding and dreamlike. The audiobook was a perfect complement to this writing style, as I often felt lulled into a stupor.

I was tickled to receive this advance audiobook from Net Galley but I wonder if I would have enjoyed this book more in print. Typically the narration will either add an additional layer to the book or not affect it at all, but in this case the narrator’s slow, breathy reading style diminished my enjoyment of the book. While listening I frequently had the thought that I couldn’t stand her presence in my head another minute. Aside from that, the book was just okay, boring at times, to be honest. None of the girls are interesting or likable or even messed up enough to compensate for a meandering plot. I’m striking out with the new releases I most anticipated.

Thank you to NetGalley for this book.

I don’t even know where to start with this. Brutes is like if you mashed up the dreaminess of a Sofia Coppola film with the trauma and sadness of Gummo. I remembered the feelings I had the first time I read The Virgin Suicides at 12 years old and the feelings I had reading The Bell Jar in high school. But as a full grown adult and also a parent I felt a whole other levels of horror at the tale of this group of adolescent girls and the way their town deals with a missing girl. Dizz Tate’s writing is lush and beautiful. I can’t wait to see what else this writer has to offer.

I seem to be in the habit of loving the books with low average ratings on Goodreads and Storygraph. I enjoy literary fiction, greatly appreciate meaningful symbolism, adore ambiguity to analyze in novels and have found the collective “we” narrative to be an effective device in many novels. I also thought The Florida Project was a phenomenal movie and Brutes claims to be perfect for fans of that film. With all that in mind, I thought this would be a good fit for me.

I was mistaken.

As far as the writing goes, the prose is lyrical and the imagery Dizz Tate’s sentences create is vivid. Unfortunately, there was little else to mesmerize me in Brutes. Overall, I thought it was trying too hard to be edgy while poorly encompassing the aspects I mentioned loving in previous reads.

It’s also worth noting that despite its short length, I found it to be rather boring. And perhaps this was the point, given the sameness of the collective narrative, but each character felt almost exactly the same as we visited with them in their adult years. I prefer nuance when exploring individual characters, as human beings are not carbon copies of one another and, no matter how the surface may appear, there are always more dimensions.

In short, this was a disappointing miss for me.

I am immensely grateful to Highbridge Audio and NetGalley for my advance listening copy. All opinions are my own.

Summary:

In Falls Landing, Florida—a place built of theme parks, swampy lakes, and scorched bougainvillea flowers—something sinister lurks in the deep. A gang of thirteen-year-old girls obsessively orbit around the local preacher's daughter, Sammy. She is mesmerizing, older, and in love with Eddie. But suddenly, Sammy goes missing. Where is she? Watching from a distance, they edge ever closer to discovering a dark secret about their fame-hungry town and the cruel cost of a ticket out. What they see will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives.

My Thoughts:

I thought this was an interesting coming of age story. The narration was very calming.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the narrators voice on this audiobook! She is easily understandable and has a melodic tone that was incredibly easy to listen to for hours at a time. The story itself revolves around young girls on the cusp of adulthood all trying to figure out who they are and also looking for answers about a missing girl who is a few years older, that they looked up to. The writing was beautiful but the story felt very disjointed to me, almost like a fever dream. I’m sure the author meant for it to feel this way, but I found it difficult to know what was going on in the moment, and when I finally felt like I knew what was happening, the story would change directions. I did enjoy how beautifully it was written, almost like a disturbing at time poetry.

I read ‘Brutes’ by Dizz Tate today, in (basically) one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. It’s dark nostalgia at its finest! I loved the lyrical prose paired with the overwhelming heat of the setting. It’s more vibes than anything else — and I mean that in the best way. You just may not *fully* grasp exactly what’s going on, and that’s part of why it works.

But — don’t let that fool you. It’s a fascinating look into that tender age between childhood and womanhood and the things we do to survive, that protect ourselves from the world and what it does to women, and the ways that impact lingers into adulthood. It looks at the rivalries between sisters and friends and the ways girls both love and revere their mothers while simultaneously resenting them and wanting to hurt them.

Thanks to NetGalley I was able to listen to the audiobook and I have to say, listening to Eleanor McCormick’s narration was wonderful. Her voice has a haunting quality that works perfectly with the lyrical prose.

What a masterful debut! I can’t wait to experience more of Dizz Tate’s work in the future.

+ Thank you so much to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for access to this audiobook.

There is a niche audience for this one for sure. Where I fall… I devoured this in a day because I could not help myself. It read very 90s cinematic. Is that a thing? It feels right. The echos of “We” voices left a haunting impression. Mixed with the girls own voices I found it very… I must read the next part before I set this down… I’m totally not sure if I caught everything I was suppose to. I listened to the audio and want to go back through and physically read it at some point because I felt almost hypnotized by what really was happening. A very unique debut. I kept thinking of Mona Awad’s Bunny and of course The Virgin Suicides.

AH! What a phenomenal book!

I am so happy and thankful to Dizz Tate, Highbridge Audio, and NetGalley for granting me advanced audiobook access to Brutes before it's set to publish on March 14, 2023.

This book tells the story of several young girls struggling to exist and make it out of their hell-hole of a town in Florida. We never know the name of our main characters, for Dizz Tate personifies them as "We" and "Us," so you get to ride along on the journey of these girls. Growing up is hard enough as it is. Still, factor in the small-town vibe, pastor's children, and all the following pageantry, both literally and metaphorically, and it's not much more accessible in this town.

When the small-town pastor's daughter goes missing, the parents rally their search parties, and the children and teens rally behind Sammy to finally get out of the town. Indoctrinated by their way of life and fear of everything, we witness the restrictions placed on these girls, daughters, and soon-to-be women of their own accord, after tragedy strikes.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for this audiobook ARC! Brutes is a hypnotically beautiful coming of age story. I really enjoyed the narrators soft and gentle voice. My only complaint is I wish it would have had dates when it did time skips, but it was easy enough to follow. The writing of this story was amazing and I really enjoyed how it flowed so smoothly.