amberleefowler's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
I was really disappointed with this book. I have heard incredible things about the author, but despite the writing style pulling me in, and the interesting vampire lore and culture, I would not read this book again and struggled to finish in the first place.
I could not get over the appearance of Shori and despite understanding that Butler was attempting to discuss the shift of power dynamics in this book (age, race, sex), the level of description of Shori's prepubescent body and her sexual encounters with other characters is revolting. I think this aim could have been achieved without the outright and glaring pedophilia throughout the entire book.
There were also some other disappointments where the book did not live up to the hype, including the plot and dialogue.
I did love the unique take of vampire families and symbiotes as well as the discussion around race and identity but yeah pretty disappointing for how eager I was to read this book.
I could not get over the appearance of Shori and despite understanding that Butler was attempting to discuss the shift of power dynamics in this book (age, race, sex), the level of description of Shori's prepubescent body and her sexual encounters with other characters is revolting. I think this aim could have been achieved without the outright and glaring pedophilia throughout the entire book.
There were also some other disappointments where the book did not live up to the hype, including the plot and dialogue.
I did love the unique take of vampire families and symbiotes as well as the discussion around race and identity but yeah pretty disappointing for how eager I was to read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Animal death
adiajamille's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I found that i definitely wanted to see where it was going, but that it felt a bit dry. I supposed it’s because Shuri isn’t human and therefore doesn’t speak, think, or process like a human. I thought it was a great introduction to a new series (if that were the intent) and sad, because this one could definitely build into something really exciting.
I thought a bigger issue than Shuri’s appearance was the excessive ableism displayed during the final chapters of the book.
The continued discussion around Shuri’s appearance is interesting considering there are real human adults that have genetic conditions that make them appear as children. I would love to find out the reasoning behind Shuri’s appearance, although I felt it was thoroughly explained. (Potential spoilers)
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The part I felt curious about, and I’ll have to look in the book as I listened on audiobook and wasn’t able to rewind at the time, I’d was Wright actually a pedophile? I swear there was allusion to it.
Overall I think this book brought up a lot of things that need to be examined.
I thought a bigger issue than Shuri’s appearance was the excessive ableism displayed during the final chapters of the book.
The continued discussion around Shuri’s appearance is interesting considering there are real human adults that have genetic conditions that make them appear as children. I would love to find out the reasoning behind Shuri’s appearance, although I felt it was thoroughly explained. (Potential spoilers)
.
.
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The part I felt curious about, and I’ll have to look in the book as I listened on audiobook and wasn’t able to rewind at the time, I’d was Wright actually a pedophile? I swear there was allusion to it.
Overall I think this book brought up a lot of things that need to be examined.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Gaslighting, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, and Violence
sirbebop's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
qwends's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs
maregred's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Slavery and Grief
doctorw0rm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Racism, and Gun violence
Spoiler
it’s technically not pedophilia bc shori is an adult who is actually older than every character she has sex with, BUT she does have the appearance of a 10 year old. she is also described as a child by other vampires though since they age much more slowly than we do, but they also consider it normal for vampires of her age to have sex with adults. so it’s complicated idk. but i think it’s good to have a warning bc i kind of wanted to throw up at firsthannaashaffer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
yeah i really thought there was going to be a comment about the child x adult relationship but there never was
the whole “this is looked down upon among humans but we accept you here”
i just really couldnt get past that part. i enjoyed it the farther into it however!
my first octavia e butler!! i am excited to read more by her after this, the storybuilding was amazing & i got attached to the characters by the end. except you wright.
the whole “this is looked down upon among humans but we accept you here”
i just really couldnt get past that part. i enjoyed it the farther into it however!
my first octavia e butler!! i am excited to read more by her after this, the storybuilding was amazing & i got attached to the characters by the end. except you wright.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Death
anothersarah's review against another edition
4.5
This book is really hard to rate because everything about it was amazing and brilliant.... except Butler's choice to have Shori present as a 10 year old child, that was a constant issue for me. I'm sure she did that with purpose, she was such a brilliant writer, but at the end it was a matter of how much I'd knock off of an otherwise 5⭐ read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Racism
Minor: Racial slurs
lillucys's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler has been the most challenging read for me in the 52 Book Challenge. Yes, it is a original book focused around vampire lore and confronting many of the tired fables about them head on. It also tackles issues around identity and race in a novel way. However, I just did not gel with this book at all. It was not a book I could read before bed, which is my normal habit. Instead I read it over a long weekend and was glad that I have finished it but left feeling slight out of kilter, which I think is what the author was aiming for with this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Racial slurs
athnyx230's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Murder