Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

182 reviews

takarakeireads's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

phew... this is a rough book to read because Octavia is a genius and she basically predicted the world we live in now 30 years ago

The book starts in 2024... a dystopian society, told from the perspective of a teenage girl's journal, who is trying to create her own new religion. Even though some really horrible things happen in the book, the overall tone is rather matter-of-fact and for that reason the storytelling arc fell a tad flat (it's just very different from typical plot pacing that I've read, so maybe that's why). I have to see how it ends so... yeah I'll read the sequel :')

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Rape, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Grief, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Classism

syreetam's review

dark emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury

loreleileee's review

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual content

rustyray's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

Very interesting novel, incredible to compare the written year and how relatable themes are now that we are in the future year (2024). Prepare for sadness but also surprisingly amount of mind blowing moments. 
Follow story of a household in a guarded community in dystopian future from a teenage girls perspective. 

I find it hard to suggest with the heavy, graphic description of sexual abuse

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

laurenlimabean's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

4.75

I think others can agree that this book is 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

jayeless's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

bethijay's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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.

bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

Sometimes I think about how my country (the U.S) might fall and this isn’t far off from that. After all, Butler’s predictions in this book were inspired by the patterns of our country’s priorities and behaviors for a few hundred years. 
This is a very thoughtful and insightful book that I recommend to everyone. It takes a bit to pick up in the beginning but once it does, I think you’ll understand why it’s so impactful. 
My only qualm is that I wish the lead wasn’t a teen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic