Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Fledgling

Octavia Butler expertly explores themes of racism and ageism—among others—in a take on vampires that I haven’t encountered before. The novel follows a young Ina named Shori who awakens in a cave heavily injured and with no memories. She learns of the history and culture of the Ina, the political ties between Ina families, and the conspiracy that led to her being injured in the first place.

Things I Liked:

The characters feel like authentic people rather than tropes or caricatures and the relationships they build with each other are engaging. There is LGBTQ+ representation in the cast of characters which is something I'm always seeking out. The pacing is consistent and at no point did it feel too fast or too slow to me. The world building is thorough and in depth and feels naturally integrated into the modern setting. It has the found family trope, which I am always on board for.

Disliked:

My primary dislike/discomfort with the novel comes from

the explicit sexual scenes between a person who has the physical appearance of a 10-year-old (even though she is said to be 53 years old) and multiple adults.

I know that this is an intentional discomfort, but it is something I wanted to mention also as a potential trigger warning.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Fledgling as much I have enjoyed reading some of Butler’s other works.

Content Warnings

galaxyelfjess's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Good book for the first half, second half wasn't as good

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danibee's review

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emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Loved the world-building! And the found family overarching themes.

That being said, Shori’s childlike state made me really uncomfortable, especially when sexualized. I realize the author was trying to examine the parameters consent, but I found those descriptions disturbing/off-putting. I almost stopped reading it several times because of this and had to skip a few sections. Definitely worth being aware of if you’re considering wearing this book.

Content Warnings

d0505's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

2.0

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kisara's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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taroroot's review

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i don't read much vampire or sci-fi stuff but i like Octavia Butler so i read this. i enjoyed her unique take on vampires. the apparent age of the main character is difficult to accept and uncomfortable to deal with in many parts of the book. Shori is placed in a lot of sexual contexts while appearing as a 10 year old child (idc if she's really 53,

she's still considered a child by her own peoples' standards

) i'm sure this was intentional on the behalf of the author however i really struggled with not thinking of every character as a perv.

Wright is lesbophobic as fuck for saying that Shori's relationships with women didn't affect him as much but when she gets a male symbiont suddenly polyamory is a big deal.

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mwass's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

I love how Butler explores morally grey relationships and uses the reader’s uncomfortablity as a tool to do so! She effortlessly builds a fleshed out believable world that sucks you in, while also tackling issues such as racism and consent.

Content Warnings

fenemiestolovers's review against another edition

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Couldn’t get past the pedophilic relationship. According to Google searches I learned

Shori is not human and is actually over 50 years old

but I knew I could personally not read a story with that dynamic.

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