Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

9 reviews

charrlee's review

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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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happinessie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0


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cj13's review

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challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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linblythe_pub22's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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marareading's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.75

I am so torn. I was so thrilled when I found out Octavia E Butler wrote a book about vampires. I love vampire books. This is definitely a new take on it. The entire book is from the perspective of Shori, our MC. To prevent spoilers I'm just say that her perspective creates a story where she has to learn a lot and you learn with her. I didn't like this. However,  it was necessary to the plot, so it was also very smart for the author. Her writing style isn't what I'm used to, she is much more staccato in her information and building. 

Shori is a 52 yr old vampire that appears to humans as a 10-12 year old girl. The way thay sexuality is discussed with her gabe me a BIG ICK. It honestly made it very hard for me to get through the book at all. Despite that we do learn that she is in fact 53 in vampire years, the author hammers home REPEATEDLY that she presents as a small child. Yet adults of both genders continually sexualize openly. It was something I couldn't get past throughout the book. Without this portion of the story I would have loved it, but I can't get past it. 

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hayleyvharrington's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.25


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cyrinw98's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-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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candycain's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.5


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zgc's review

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

if this was any other author I would have bailed a few chapters in. not sure I was right not to. this book needed another editing pass, if it needed to exist at all. it's built around a creepy trope, and its themes are communicated better in her other work

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