A review by therainbowshelf
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

The society we know in the US has fallen apart in 2025. the economy has collapsed, Violence on the streets has forced neighborhoods to erect walls for protection, many people are becoming homeless, and climate change makes survival even more of a challenge. Lauren learns what it means to survive inside of her walled neighborhood and outside. 

For readers looking for 💕: Intense stories of survival, catastrophic climate change and social upheaval, creative world building, books with black protagonists, community building

My thoughts 💭: I'm not much for books about religion, or dystopian stories (I mostly picked this up because I've loved other Butler books). Even so, I enjoyed this book. I thought the world building was excellent, and loved the collecting of their found family quite a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, and Xenophobia