4.16 AVERAGE

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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
adventurous tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
challenging dark tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional reflective medium-paced

Octavia Butler has continued, with each book of hers that I have read, to be a masterful storyteller who marries the unsettling destination of current human behavior with our deep seated greed and fear of The Other, those whom we have deemed “not like us.” Yet she does so while continuing to leave ample room for discussion and interpretation of the ambiguous complexity that is ever present in life.

She has demonstrated once again in “Adulthood Rites” a deep understanding of human longing, fear, and demonization of those not like Us. How we feel threatened fear harm because of the elevation of others. How often we choose violence and short sightedness and the familiar over listening and hearing and growth.

Having read this now, following the continual upheaval in our world and the deeply rooted nature of human dislike for those and that which is different from Us, I find a striking condemnation of the violence we bestow upon each other in the name of “freedom” when freedom simply enable, nay perpetuates, the status quo doling out violence to our brothers and sisters.
No review that I can write can give justice to the ambiguity, complexity, and depth of human character which she explores in her work. No review that I can write gives justice to Octavia Butler’s call for justice through narrative.
adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced
challenging dark hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Another very interesting, morally conflicting book. Very excited to see how this all ends.
adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated