Fledgling

Fledgling combines a vampire story with questions on race. Shori is a 53-year-old woman, but she has woken up without memory as a 10-year-old girl. As she searches for answers about her condition, she finds her identity is the result of an experiment. Her vampire DNA has been mixed with African-American to give her dark skin that can withstand the sunshine. This novel is among Butler’s least popular, and the overt sexuality of the main character in the body of a 10-year-old girl seems to be one of the main reasons. But this turns on its head the standard trope of old male vampires that look young having sex with young women. Butler said in interviews that she wrote Fledgling to distract herself from the grimness of the Parable Series and meant it to be an erotic romp into the vampire genre.

Published by Seven Stories Press in 2005, Fledgling is the last novel published in Octavia Butler’s lifetime, and signed copies are rare. The first edition has stated ‘First edition, October 2005, and a full number line on the copyright page starting with 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.