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c_cant98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
otherwordy's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mymyfrog's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War
finnifinn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
edonnel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I especially appreciate the female MC whose empathy is her disability, because in a world where global disaster is the every day news, feeling others pain is can be crippling. In the last week while reading this, two CAT 5 hurricanes have drown the eastern seaboard, earthquakes ricochet along the west coast, and genocides funded by my country have devastated entire nations. What can one person do but despair?
But despite it all, hope is found, in community, in children, and in seeds. And all I can do is keep planting seeds, keep teaching children, and keep hoping.
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
This book is science fiction apocalypse. It describes everything violent you can expect from an apocalyptic future.reading_bunny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Review:
I only read this book because it was assigned reading for a university class but I really enjoyed it!
The themes and topics were really heavy but the way that Lauren talked about them makes it both more palatable and devastating.
The whole climate apocalypse theme is always fun to read, especially when it's written in the past, so debit seems to be more if a reality as the years go by.
The whole book has the theme of perspective with how Lauren sees the world and her opinions, and how others see the world and their opinions, it's a huge point if conflict in the book and makes Lauren add to and change Earthseed
I have MAJOR beef with that guy though! I don't even wanna wrote his name because he is the same age as my FATHER and that is gross!!!! Plus the way he sees Earthseed and Laurens want to spread the word and start a community pisses me off.
ANYWAYS
would I recommend this book to others? No, not unless I knew they would be able to handle the extensive triggers and themes of the book.
Would I personally read this again? Absolutely not, but I did really enjoy the read though
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Classism
mzulli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism and Slavery
megneb's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury
sadtourist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A very well-written speculative fiction book in the style of a journal written by a young woman (15-18 years old over the course of the storyline) documenting her experiences. Several things are happening at the same time (not spoilers):
1) We are seeing the world slowly descending into a (at least partly climate-induced) dystopian/apocalyptic world that we often see in this genre, but we're not fully there yet. There are still governments, cities, state borders, and even police (there's no pretense of their usefulness, but just saying that this isn't a post-apocalyptic story. It's happening now). This was a new (to me) take on a genre I read a lot, and it was interesting to see how things happen a bit more slowly over time. I would have liked to learn more about what happened in this world (politically, environmentally, etc) that caused so much to change before the protagonist's time.
2) The protagonist, young Lauren Olamina, has a syndrome (from birth) enabling her to feel the pain (and pleasure) of others. This is something that Lauren deals with throughout the novel which can be extremely dangerous and incapacitating because of the violence and death surrounding her. I am curious to see if the second book explores a bit more of the hope that this offers civilization in the future: are the people with this syndrome just more vulnerable, or are they the hope for the future?
3) And throughout all of this, Lauren is developing her own belief system. There is something really beautiful and enticing (to me) about the Earthseed religious philosophy, which is that it feels very tangible. It's a system of belief built up around real life, based on Lauren's constant analyzing of the world around her. The religion offers structure, community, goals, lessons, and hope. While reading, I thought a lot about the role of organized religion in a near-world-ending scenario. Is a system of belief like this more necessary and useful to a community than existing religions, or even no religion? Food for thought.
Before diving into this book, I think I was apprehensive about getting started for several reasons: I'm a bit done with the YA genre and often avoid books with young/teenage protagonists. I also was aware that the book focuses on religion, and for personal reasons that's something I haven't been in the mood to reflect much on in the last few years. But I'm so glad I finally sat down and took the time to read and appreciate this book.
I was very inspired reading this book: inspired by how Lauren moves through the world as a leader despite her age. Inspired by Butler's writing. Inspired by a philosophy of accepting and embracing change.
It's hard to write and reflect on it now, because I can't say: 'it was a pleasure to read' (because... woof. It hits you in the gut. It's not a 'pleasure'). It's hard to say 'I loved it', because there's so much pain and violence and horror that is hard to love. But underlying all of that is actually... hope.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape
mabuu'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, and Classism