Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

296 reviews

angelasunshine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

I’m giving this 4.5 stars. It’s a “cli-fi” dystopian novel written in 1993 but set in the year 2025. 2025 was a bit early for the level of devastation described, but 2045 might unfortunately be more realistic?? It’s certainly coming if we don’t make some radical changes. The story is told through Lauren’s journal entries, and I liked seeing it unfold through her eyes.

Quick summary: Things are crappy in the 2020’s, and there’s a water shortage. Lauren’s neighborhood is safe until it isn’t, so she and a couple of other people from her community decide to head north from Los Angeles to look for a better and safer life. Along the way, Lauren shapes religion-like ideas to live by in the hopes of starting a new peaceful community.

The characters in this book are authentically written, in that none of them are perfect. Everyone has weaknesses, jealousies, and bouts of pridefulness that make them feel real. Found family is an engaging theme, and the way people are bound together, sometimes despite themselves, is handled well here.

There were just a couple of little things that kept me from giving it 5 stars. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll be vague. The timing of revelation of some characters’ weaknesses seemed awfully coincidental in propelling the story forward. Also, I felt that Lauren was a bit contradictory in her science-minded beliefs and her new religious ideas – but hey – that describes many religious folks.

This is a great book for someone who likes dystopian novels that feel like they can actually happen (and probably will!) If you are a climate change denier, this is not for you. There are some trigger warnings, so be sure to check those before diving in. Once again, Octavia E. Butler has gripped me in one of her fascinating but alarming worlds.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Cannibalism

dontlittledo's review

dark emotional medium-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

2.75

The actual written language is good, but the storyline is 75% build-up... And the ending is abrupt, incomplete. It almost feels thrown together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

verilystilt's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Murder

loko2493's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

Now that it's 2025, maybe get some context before reading...the book is terrifyingly accurate to the struggles we are currently facing in the US. I started it without really knowing what it was about and right as the wildfires in LA began ramping up. Makes a tough read even tougher, but wow I simply couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Cannibalism, and Abandonment

silverhill's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Blood, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

totesyotes's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An absolute masterpiece. You will double take at Butler's prescience and prophetic portrayal of a 2024 united states gone wrong, written in 1993. You will double take. You will say "wtf" out loud. Your friends will ask how your book is going, and you will respond "Terrible." with a smile. Readers be warned of a very, very long list of trigger warnings. Take care of yourself and be gentle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Gigantic content warning. Incredible book.

cierramorg's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

Begging you not to read this if you’re mentally unstable or in general trying to have a good day. 

My major qualms (it feels illegal to critique Octavia Butler) include the main character and her Earthseed religion. Nothing Lauren does is consistent and she reads more as a robot than a human being who is supposedly hyper-empathetic. And tbh the Earthseed plot came across really culty and angsty, which I guess makes sense since she’s a teenager. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

cmbrown4's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use and Gun violence

Minor: Rape

unicorngirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I don't know how to write this review because this was a deep novel that I don't think my thoughts could really do this book justice. This book is so deep and powerful, and it was such a journey that I also don't know how to rate it.
This book starts off nice, safe, the calm before the storm, if you will, and then you are thrust into the deep end, and have to face the unexpected like Lauren, our main character, does. It's like the covers being thrown off of you.

Except for the fact that Lauren's community burned down and all her family died.

.
A lot of it felt somewhat the same

because all the characters did was moving city to city, buying supplies.

But it was also a testament to human connection and that even though humans most of the time do only think about themselves, they also care about others, and to those around them.
It was a great novel except for the fact that

the main character was 18, and she had a relationship with a 57 year old man. Kind of weird....

But, other than that, this book was amazing, is worth a read, to the point where I think everyone should read it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, Blood, and Grief

brit_2024's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense 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? No

4.25

This book gave an interesting parallel to today's society. While not everything is the same, there are many similarities between the book and today's society and where things could be going. The characters in this book were very relatable and even though they were diverse and coming from different backgrounds/walks of life, they were all in some way or another relatable. This book isn't a light read and could be hard for some people to get through. If you like dystopian fiction with a hint of reality in it, this would be a good book to try reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use and Trafficking

This book can have brief/moderate triggers for some readers. Would advise doing some research on the book before reading to decide if it would be the right read, but overall a well-written book.