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redcapediver's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Classism, Blood, Child abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
valent1ne's review
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Cannibalism
lola_milk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism
rlgreen91's review
- 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
4.0
One of the things that stood out most to me about the book was this implicit reference to adultification of black girls in the real world. Yes, we learn that Shori is actually closer to an adolescent in her society, but even then, she's still explicitly not an adult. And yet in many of the situations throughout the book, Shori is expected to behave as if she were an adult - until, of course, it's convenient for other people to treat her like a child in a given situation. It was frustrating to see that play out over and over again in the novel.
But what I kept coming back to when reading the book was Shori's grief. Her recognition that she couldn't mourn her families the way people normally would was so sad but also a part of her grieving process. Her realization that she couldn't fall apart over Theodora was maddening because it ties back directly into the adultification aspect, but also how Black women in general are pressured to just "soldier on" during times of stress because they have to hold everyone else together and make sure everything gets taken care of. It all feels so familiar, and for that reason, I couldn't escape that. No matter what other points Butler was making about race or gender or family, no matter how much I just wanted to rail about the adultification - what I always got stuck on was the grief.
In terms of what I didn't like - like a large number of people, I definitely had to power my way through the first few chapters and other sections later on. And many of the characters felt flat to me. Since the book is written from Shori's point of view and other characters are frequently having to explain things to her due to the memory loss, what often felt like info dumps are just the necessary exposition. But even beyond that, it felt like there were situations that happened with various characters but we never saw any exploration after that - for example, with the name shift of Renee to Shori, or Wright's reaction to Joel. I would have liked to see that explored more beyond the initial scene.
But like I said, overall it's a solid novel, and definitely worth a read.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Cannibalism
hayleyvharrington's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Violence, Genocide, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism, Sexual content, Racism, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime
Minor: Addiction and Xenophobia
literarylion's review
- 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
4.75
- Impeccable world-building without falling into the trap of over-description
- Well-paced and engaging
- A unique take on a trope
Cons:
- I wish Butler had continued this in a series!
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, and Racism
sofipitch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
What I really did NOT like was the sexual content of this book. The main character, Shori, is a 53 yr old vampire, but she looks 10/11. She has sexual relationships with adult humans which is uncomfy and what makes it worse is that she and her partner didn't know she was "technically an adult" by human standards (50ish) (butshe is explicitly stated to be child in the vampire culture and not developed sexually, wtf wtf)before they had sex. So basically this character, Wright, was just interested in having sex with a child. And even the backup logic of the given culture supports viewing Shori as a child, not an adult. I wish I had known this before buying the book, bc I don't like whatever this mess is, and I probably wouldn't have bought it.
I had Parable of the Sower and Kindred on my reading lists but I don't know if I want to read anything else by Butler.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Violence, and Cannibalism
sionnac's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Gore and Racism
Minor: Cannibalism