Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

47 reviews

leadabird's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Violence, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Pedophilia

Shori, the main character of Fledgling, is a 53-year-old Ina (vampire) whose appearance resembles an 11-year-old human.

She has romantic and sexual relationships with several adult humans other Ina. Although she is really 53 years old, she is still a child by Ina standards. The novel includes descriptions of her childlike body in sexual situations and of how humans might perceive her relationships with her partners (as child/adult relationships). As in her other work, Butler pushes the boundaries of socially acceptable romantic/sexual relationships. She writes Shori as a consenting adult despite the assurances of the other Ina that she is a child.

This content is, at best, thought-provoking and uncomfortable to read and at worst, triggering and representative of dangerous human behavior.

franklola's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Sexual content, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood

Minor: Gun violence and Murder

buttercat42's review

dark mysterious 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

3.75

Left me wanting to know more about the world and the characters, although I preferred the first half to the second half

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Murder, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Injury/Injury detail

shansreadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

• 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

3.25

i enjoyed this book, it kept my attention but wasn't intriguing in the way i wanted it to be. butler's writing just lacked the style to draw me in to the story, it was too factual :(

but the idea of putting our main character in a ten year old's body (while she is 53, but that's still considered too young to mate in their species) definitely did its job of making me very uncomfortable throughout this book.

but the plot was very interesting and gripping, and i really enjoyed this new take on vampires and how much we get to learn about their species!!

probably not her best work but ily octavia <3

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Racial slurs

swaldman's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Death

Minor: Gun violence and Racial slurs

sacredhearthbookreviews's review against another edition

Adult child relationship/pedophilia

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship

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.

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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

charrlee's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

Octavia Butler's work in this novel makes you squirm --- it is meant to, and her writing here has been one of the most uncomfortable reading experiences I've had. I'm unsure how to accurately summarize the journey Fledgling has put me through, but I will say Butler has yet to fail in her deliveries. 

This is a text that will have you traversing the themes of blackness & fugitivity and hybridity & "naturalness" while questioning who assumes the role of monsters. Humanity is found in unexpected places as Butler subverts, complicates, and rewrites the expectations and rules of the common Western vampire trope. There is much to discuss about the moral quandaries this book offers. It was a challenging read and probably one of the more horrific books I've read to date.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Racism, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Hate crime

Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Classism, Gore, Torture, Physical abuse, Addiction, Slavery, Colonisation, and Racial slurs

nevenolson's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

Don't read this book if polyamorous vampires aren't your thing or if you're looking for something written by a prude mormons. 
I loved this book. It is amazingly written. I absolutely love the way Butler wrote vampires(Ina). The ending felt unfinished, unfortunately the author passed away before she wrote a sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Racism

mmefish's review against another edition

This was interesting (and disgusting) but became repetitive and full of endless exposition.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury