A review by livlosiewicz
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

dark emotional medium-paced
  • 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? No

5.0

 Our narrator wakes up in a cave, badly injured with no memory of her previous life. She comes to realize that she craves human blood, belonging to a species of vampire-like creatures. Now she must relearn everything about her kind that she once forgot, while dealing with the fact that someone is out to get her family. 
 
Pros: 
· I found this to be super interesting; I loved learning about the Ina through Shori’s eyes, and I thought the memory loss was a cool plot device to introduce the reader to everything at an easy pace 
·Butler has a way of building a world that still centers around people, even though she’s using fantastical/scifi concepts. I find it so fascinating and so easy and fun to jump into. Plus, she manages to use these concepts to highlight important themes like racism and sexuality 
 
Cons: 
· towards the beginning of the end/end of the middle, the pacing starts to slow a bit. 
·There are a lot of characters to keep track of, which didn’t bother me but I could see it being difficult for others 
 
Recommendation: I recommend if you like scifi or speculative fiction. I usually find myself disappointed with scifi, but this one did not disappoint. If you’re turned off by the vampire thing because of YA romance novels, don’t be- this is Queen Octavia, we’re in good hands. Avoid if you dislike supernatural/scifi elements in novels or want something light. 
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