Fledgling

Octavia Bulter's Fledgling is empowering, inspiring and for the most part very uncomfortable to read. When I first began to read this vampire story about a fifty-five African American woman trapped in a ten-year-old young girl's body who having sex with a middle aged white man named Wright I was a little concerned. I thought my mind was violating some type of law with the vivid grotestque images forming in my mind. Then I began to read through a feminist lens and realized Shori kicked some major ass. She told people what to do, she led the group and kept fighting for her and her new family's life even after fires were breaking loose. I would definitely like to have the fearless vampire girl Shori go around helping me defeat people then Bella any day.

After taking a closer look this story represents not only bloodsucking and pleasure giving vampires roaming the city, but it's more about the nature of breaking free from racial, sexual, age and gender ties. Although I will admit it was a unique way of demonstrating these tactics in a plot like so but it really does get the point across. Shori does everything she can to protect those she cares about and her exceptionalities are what allows her to defeat the bad guys. Yes, she is black and in the body of a ten year old but with all honestly it is clear she wins the herione award in this story.

Unlike Bella in Twilight, Shori is by no means passive or does she succumb to a man. If anything, the men in this novel listen and go under her wing of force. In general, I'm very glad this novel was part of the curriculum because it shows that the women protagonist in vampire genre come in many different shapes and sizes.