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elizabethlo's review against another edition
I am only a fairly recent fan of Octavia Butler's, having discovered her in the last few years. I've loved everything I've read so far and am feeling so conflicted about disliking this book so much. I made it 45% of the way there, but just don't feel like I can drag myself through the rest of it.
I'm sure it was intentional, but the sexualization of the main character (who is a child both in physical appearance as well as by Butler's vampire universe standards) is really uncomfortable. Sex scenes are introduced very early and there is little to no moral dilemma to be found between any of the adult characters who become her sexual partners. Obviously she's done this for a reason, but she absolutely does not let you forget that this is a 10-12 year old girl's body (and a vampire child in mind) who is participating in these sexual acts. Very difficult to push past, but that's not even the reason I'm giving up on this.
Fledgling focuses on a lot of the same issues that Butler covers in her other stories - racism, sexuality, non-monogamous relationships, consent - so that was familiar for me. What was unfamiliar was how much this dragged. The dialogue between characters was stiff and unnatural, and the exposition was repetitive and dull. I can't stress enough how bored I was before throwing in the towel, which I find shocking for an Octavia Butler novel.
Definitely a tough one to set aside, but I'd rather spend my time on finding new favourites. This ain't it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
Moderate: Cannibalism
impla77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Also the questionable sexual relationships are never discussed after they’ve been ‘justified’ and don’t feel needed in the book. Just feels awkward and not thought through
Graphic: Pedophilia, Violence, Cannibalism, Racial slurs, and Racism
uhm_kai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, and Racism
lexnicole's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Death, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual content, Ableism, Biphobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Cannibalism and Incest
le_mur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Sexual content, Ableism, Cannibalism, Racism, and Blood
redcapediver's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Classism, Blood, Child abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
valent1ne's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Cannibalism
lola_milk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism
rlgreen91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
One of the things that stood out most to me about the book was this implicit reference to adultification of black girls in the real world. Yes, we learn that Shori is actually closer to an adolescent in her society, but even then, she's still explicitly not an adult. And yet in many of the situations throughout the book, Shori is expected to behave as if she were an adult - until, of course, it's convenient for other people to treat her like a child in a given situation. It was frustrating to see that play out over and over again in the novel.
But what I kept coming back to when reading the book was Shori's grief. Her recognition that she couldn't mourn her families the way people normally would was so sad but also a part of her grieving process. Her realization that she couldn't fall apart over Theodora was maddening because it ties back directly into the adultification aspect, but also how Black women in general are pressured to just "soldier on" during times of stress because they have to hold everyone else together and make sure everything gets taken care of. It all feels so familiar, and for that reason, I couldn't escape that. No matter what other points Butler was making about race or gender or family, no matter how much I just wanted to rail about the adultification - what I always got stuck on was the grief.
In terms of what I didn't like - like a large number of people, I definitely had to power my way through the first few chapters and other sections later on. And many of the characters felt flat to me. Since the book is written from Shori's point of view and other characters are frequently having to explain things to her due to the memory loss, what often felt like info dumps are just the necessary exposition. But even beyond that, it felt like there were situations that happened with various characters but we never saw any exploration after that - for example, with the name shift of Renee to Shori, or Wright's reaction to Joel. I would have liked to see that explored more beyond the initial scene.
But like I said, overall it's a solid novel, and definitely worth a read.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Cannibalism
hayleyvharrington's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Violence, Genocide, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism, Sexual content, Racism, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime
Minor: Addiction and Xenophobia