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planswithbooks's review against another edition
I could not get through the character being in a child's body having sex with adults.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
nixter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m kind of let down by this novel to be honest. I saw so many great reviews that led me to believe this was going to be a life changing read, and honestly, a whole bunch of nothing happened for a majority of the book. Nothing about this book was groundbreaking or revolutionary like i was expecting. I was intrigued enough to keep going, hence the 3 stars but it’s more like a 2.5 rounded up because I wanted to DNF at one point.
The vampires very much fit established vampire lore in some capacity. The experimental part of it wasn’t well explained, in my opinion. I didn’t connect with any of the characters or have any affection for them, which includes our MC, Shori. She was just bumbling around clueless the whole book, which tracks because she suffered from amnesia, but for once, I wanted her to be in the know or have some clue as to what the hell is going on. There were also too many complicated relationships and dynamics to keep track of in such a short period of time, and I often found myself confused and having to think back and remember who is who in relation to someone else.
Finally, my biggest issue was the most glaring part of the book for me — the thing I could not simply get over — which is the fact that she is a literal child, engaging in these sexualized behaviors with adults. Not only is she child appearing to humans, but even by vampiric standards, she’s a kid. So the whole thing made me uncomfortable from the beginning, which may have been a goal of Butler, but I didn’t enjoy it. There were multiple times when I had to put it down and take a break because reading it forced me to imagine a 10 year old appearing person in these compromising situations when I simply rather not.
The vampires very much fit established vampire lore in some capacity. The experimental part of it wasn’t well explained, in my opinion. I didn’t connect with any of the characters or have any affection for them, which includes our MC, Shori. She was just bumbling around clueless the whole book, which tracks because she suffered from amnesia, but for once, I wanted her to be in the know or have some clue as to what the hell is going on. There were also too many complicated relationships and dynamics to keep track of in such a short period of time, and I often found myself confused and having to think back and remember who is who in relation to someone else.
Finally, my biggest issue was the most glaring part of the book for me — the thing I could not simply get over — which is the fact that she is a literal child, engaging in these sexualized behaviors with adults. Not only is she child appearing to humans, but even by vampiric standards, she’s a kid. So the whole thing made me uncomfortable from the beginning, which may have been a goal of Butler, but I didn’t enjoy it. There were multiple times when I had to put it down and take a break because reading it forced me to imagine a 10 year old appearing person in these compromising situations when I simply rather not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Racism and Racial slurs
sacredhearthbookreviews's review against another edition
Adult child relationship/pedophilia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
aburiruhime's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
axel_p's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I hate Wright with a burning passion. This book got to repetitive at times.
Content Warnings
Minor: Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Death, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Classism, Pregnancy, Ableism, Blood, and Gaslighting
mothfemme's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The more I think about this the more I realize it just wasn’t for me. Which is a bummer, because I really wanted to like this! I’ve been meaning to read Octavia Butler ever since I began working as a bookseller, and since I’m so obsessed with vampires I thought there was no way I wouldn’t love this. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
Mostly, I was just bored. She introduced such a refreshing take on the vampire mythos, yet applied it to characters that bored me to tears. I would have loved to see more time spent on the intention behind the genetic experimentation Shori was subjected to, but that storyline was dead before it arrived, literally!
Also, the pedophilic overtones were not something I could get past. The more I think about it, the grosser I feel. I understand her intention with including it, I just don’t agree with it. At all.
Sadly it might be a while before I try another one of her books. :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent
modernsapphic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
3.0
Certainly not where anyone should start with reading Octavia E Butler's oeuvre. I genuinely enjoyed reading Fledgling, however Butler's other works have so much more to offer on the themes explored in this novel. After reading her Xenogenesis trilogy a few months ago, Fledgling was definitely a downgrade in terms of sophistication and character development. But it's entertaining enough for a simple vampire fantasy read. Major warning for what can be interpreted as pedophilia, as the main character is a sexually precocious child who has relationships with multiple adults.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
thegreatandwonderfulbookwitch's review against another edition
I decided to nope out at the pedophilia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship
holasoyrohan's review against another edition
I really tried, but the pseudo-pedofiliac aspect just didn’t ever make sense or feel redeemed and I couldn’t keep pushing myself to read this. DNF before halfway. I’d heard only good things about this author and was excited to get started on one of her books finally, so it was pretty disappointing that this book is where I started because of the bad taste it has left in my mouth. Might’ve been different if the adult/minor dynamic made sense in any way, but there was nothing that made it feel understandable as a creative choice or pushed a deeper message - it was just icky.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
fantastical_deonna's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book is compulsory readable the pages practically turn themselves.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
The main character being in the body of a 10 year old was a little jarring