donnaofbadness's profile picture

donnaofbadness's review

4.0
dark 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: No

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gremlin_wranglr's profile picture

gremlin_wranglr's review

4.75
adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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comeherecupcake's profile picture

comeherecupcake's review

4.75
adventurous challenging dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

What a time to read this book! A dark prediction of a world that could exist in the not so distant future as the gap between the rich and the poor widens, resources get more scarce, and climate change gets more out of control.

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eugenegm's profile picture

eugenegm's review

5.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

 The Parable of the sower has become even more prophetic as time has moved on. Our world is more like Butler's world than ever before, and if we don't act now to make the changes we need to, we can all look forward to a world that is nothing but rape, torture, and endless enslavement to the rich. 

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zantoryu's profile picture

zantoryu's review

4.75
dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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la_reads_audiobooks's profile picture

la_reads_audiobooks's review

4.25
adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is my third reading of "Parable of the Sower", but my first in this form. I think this adaptation is true to the original, and the art conveys the dystopian and intense mood of the story. 

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hannahgarstang's review


Learning about Earthseed through the characters dialogue was quite comforting, despite the dystopian world this is set in. The dialouge felt like transcriptions of real conversations. 

The graphic art was chef's kiss and the story had a good pace. 

Lauren is the most observant, insightful and wise protagonists I've ever read. She is so practical and knows how to read a room. 
The age gap relationship was uncomfortable though when you remember she's only 18 years old at that point. 

This dystopian forewarning felt relevant and reflective of issues we face today. Climate change,  unregulated exploitative industry, systemic racism drivrn by the state and the patriarchy are real risks for people's wellbeing currently. I couldn't help but reflect on the examples of modern day slavery. The reflection of police brutality or the harrowing statistics of child abuse, drug abuse and sexual assault. And then on top of all of that, the fact that climate change disproportionately negatively impacts those of lower socioeconomic communities, often BIPOC communities. The emphasis on struggling to access fresh potable water sources felt especially relevant as climate change has a general rule of the dry get drier and the wet get wetter. Meaning drought prone areas are genearlly going to be especially vulnerable as the climate continues to warm. I've heard predictions that instead of fighting wars over oil we will start fighting wars over water one day. The colour selection of red and orange felt very appropriate given this context. 

The message was pretty clear to me. Work together with your communities to prepare for change because change is inevitable. Prepare for climate change with both mitigation and adaptation. Prepare for natural disasters like earthquakes(my community lives on a fault line), floods (the tragedy that was the flooding up north in Hawkes Bay last year), unprecedented forest fires (I won't be forgetting the horror that was the 2020 forest fires in Australia), and more. And address the very clear inequalities that currently exist.

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readandfindout's profile picture

readandfindout's review

3.25
challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 3.5 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars
Art: 1 star

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zombiezami's review

4.5
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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: Yes

This is my third time reading Parable of the Sower, and the first time reading it in the graphic novel version. I love John Jennings work. The colors, line work, and overall style are vibrant. The illustrations really make the story come alive. 

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peachmoni's profile picture

peachmoni's review

3.75
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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