Monday, August 2, 2010

Fledgling by Octavia E, Butler Review

Written by: Octavia E. Butler
Publication date: January 2, 2007 (first published 2005)
Released in Paperback

4 stars

Synopsis: Shori is a mystery. Found alone in the woods, she appears to be a little black girl with traumatic amnesia and near-fatal wounds. But Shori is a fifty-three-year-old vampire with a ravenous hunger for blood, the lost child of an ancient species of near-immortals who live in dark symbiosis with humanity. Genetically modified to be able to walk in daylight, Shori now becomes the target of a vast plot to destroy her and her kind. And in the final apocalyptic battle, her survival will depend on whether all humans are bigots - or all bigots are human...

How I Came to Read This: I found this book on Goodreads.com and it looked very interesting.

My Review: This book was like nothing else I've read. It was well thought out and intelligent. The story revolves around Shori, a vampire who wakes up near death from burns and physical damage, with absolutely no memory of how she ended up like that. We follow her as she heals, meets people, rediscovers her past -- and pursues judgment against those who almost destroyed her and her family. Her lack of memory allows us to follow along as she rediscovers what it means to be an Ina vampire. There was only one character that I really connected to. It wasn't because I could relate to his situation but because he was human, likable and kind of funny.

This story was so original, so creative. It doesn't focus on background description as much as describing what Shori sees, feels and re-learns after her injury.



Who Should Read This: Fledgling is NOT a young adult story. It has adult situations that I'm pretty sure a lot of people would find disturbing. I recommend this to adults who love vampire stories but can't get into the younger characters and their high school situations.

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