Brutes

Undeniably beautiful at many points, Brutes often reads like a lengthy poem that is mostly vibes and little substance. Tate may succeed in painting a rich portrait of a girls life in Florida that is, well, brutal-- but is it honest? Upon encountering the book's gratuitous preoccupation with edginess, its masochism, and its seemingly progressive statements that veer into "I'm 13 and this is deep" territory, most readers readers won't hesitate to answer "no".