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A review by rlgreen91
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Overall I thought this was a solid novel. Not my favorite by Butler, but interesting and thought-provoking nonetheless.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cannibalism