Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

52 reviews

arifairy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

maggiegirouard's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lindseygcarden's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ashleybakerwrites's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is everything The Road by Cormac McCarthy wished it could have been. I'd say this is going to go down as one of those books that never really stops being talked about. It's my first Octavia Butler, but I immediately can tell why people are drawn to her writing style at the least. Loved the big concepts for a young girl- and although she was mature for her age- there were always things that kept it believable. It's definitely not a light read- read the TWs, nothing really happens "on-screen" it's talked about from a journaled perspective of what is going on. While the stuff about Earthseed may grate against some people's sensibilities, if you read this understanding it's not supposed to convert you to anything, you'll get around it. My favorite scenes were those that actually happened on the road. The village bits are so necessary for context, and Octavia really gets you into 'normal' before you are forced from safety. I loved almost everything about this book. I'd recommend the audio book- but I think you might experience this a bit more intensely by reading it more slowly. There is a way older, barely legal romance that develops at the end of the book- but in the time period/frame of reference it's respectful. Maybe could have done without that, but I think Octavia was trying to FOIL and be realistic with that one. So I wouldn't avoid the book because of that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, and Rape

daysanchez's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

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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, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

tayngerous's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Incest and Pedophilia

jessife's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A slightly terrifying look at what climate change could do to our society - dystopian catastrophe but still gripping and hopeful

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

keyradiator's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative tense fast-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

This book is really a marvel. Octavia Butler's writing is accessible, evocative, crisp, and visceral; reading her and Ursula K. Le Guin made me realize I took entirely too long reading several mediocre science fiction books from more mainstream authors.

There is a thing or two in this book that are structurally suboptimal, but overall, the pacing is biting and cohesive, the characters have deeeeep stories and flaws, and the world building is some of the best I've ever read.

This book is dark. You can't quite prepare yourself for just how dark it gets, yet, somehow Butler manages to make a beam of hope cut through all of the noise that carries you through. Please read this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Vomit, Police brutality, Cannibalism, and War

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Car accident, and Toxic friendship

intheafrofuture's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was almost a survival guide with proof that everything changes, yet stays the same.  It wasn't a plot-driven book but it kept you wanting to know if the characters are simply okay.  I find it fascinating that as a reader I found myself criticizing my beliefs and questioning my morals.  What would I do to survive? And do I truly believe in anything other than change?  I think my biggest takeaway from this is that we all can always trust that change will come.  ALSO even though its a dystopian novel, it felt WAY too close to home.  Way too possible and that's why I feel as though Octavia Butler wasn't writing to us but was creating a guide to living through change. (Ending was disappointing, real but disappointing)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Cannibalism, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pedophilia

modernthymes's review against another edition

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, and Cannibalism