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Synopsis
'The Octavia Butler novel for our times' THE ATLANTIC 'My book of the year . . . completely devours the genre which gave rise to it' JUNOT DÍAZ The final ground-breaking novel from renowned, bestselling author Octavia E. Butler. A young girl wakes up in the woods, gravely injured and alone, with no memory of what happened or who she is. As Shori heals, she realises that she isn't like the people around her, which leads to a shocking discovery. She is a fifty-three-year-old vampire, and in terrible danger. To save herself, Shori must learn anew everything about the power and desires that she holds, the life that was stolen from her - and those who want her dead. PRAISE FOR OCTAVIA E. BUTLER, THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR 'In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time... for sheer peculiar prescience, Butler's novel may be unmatched' NEW YORKER 'Octavia Butler was playing out our very real possibilities as humans. I think she can help each of us to do the same' GLORIA STEINEM 'Butler's prose, always pared back to the bone, delineates the painful paradoxes of metamorphosis with compelling precision' GUARDIAN 'One of the most significant literary artists of the twentieth century' JUNOT DIAZ 'Octavia Butler was a visionary' VIOLA DAVIS 'Her evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human' NEW YORK TIMES
Fledgling: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
Fledgling contains explicit sexual content involving a protagonist who appears physically child-like, graphic violence, themes of race and power, and morally complex scenarios around consent and coercion. Not appropriate for any reader under 18.
What to know going in
This book has graphic violence, explicit sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include child harm, torture, slavery, graphic violence, and kidnapping (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
This is an adult novel with mature themes and explicit content — it's not for younger readers.