PositiveChicago Review of BooksBrutes is heavily character-driven, focusing on the girls’ experiences and their emotional repression surrounding mothers, friends, and their depressed, attention-hungry town. Dizz Tate’s voice in her debut novel is voyeuristic, unsettling, and mesmerizing ... Tate’s striking depiction of growing up in Florida is so palpable that, as a Midwesterner, it was easy to be immersed in the beautiful and oftentimes depressing setting ... Small interactions and mannerisms make Brutes realistic and sometimes comedic. Being so vivid and candid, it brought to mind universal experiences of overhearing conversations between strangers ... The last quarter of the novel is its unraveling point, coming to some odd conclusions that leave some questions open to interpretation. All things considered, I found myself invested in the relatable, intimate moments that molded the girls ... Stunning and realistic, Brutes speaks to how we have been taught to stifle emotions out of fear and how those fears have been weaponized against us, resulting in anger acting as the secondary emotion that masks all others.
