A review by jemmareadsbooks
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. 
The alien species are a standout for me, they're so well done and feel so alien and not just a deviation of humans. 
The plot was interesting, I spent the entire book unsure of the Oankali and changing my mind constantly about them. I was having to stop myself from reading too quickly as I was desperate to know what happened. 
Will definitely continue the series, but I may need a bit of a break as it's a heavy book for sure. 
I'm not a massive fan of rape and sexual assault in books. I think it is handled well here, though because of the alien nature I wasn't even sure it was rape initially. Even so, it's just not for me. Was the only part of the book I didn't like though. 
Generally the end and realising what the Oankali are doing is horrifying. I saw someone say the Oankali treat humans like we do endangered animals, which isn't a perfect comparison but it's not far off. We don't interfere as much, but also I don't think humans treat animals that well a lot either so it kind of parallels.
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