Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
The second book in the Lilith's Brood trilogy, this story takes place years after the arrival of Oankali aliens in the first book. Now, the Oankali have established some colonies on Earth, where they live and breed with humans. Other villages are populated by human resisters, who refuse to interact or breed with the Oankali but are frustrated because they can no longer reproduce on their own and feel they have no future. Akin, a boy "construct" born with mixed human and Oankali DNA, confronts these tensions between the two species and grapples with his own identity.
Tags
Is Adulthood Rites appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This literary science fiction explores complex themes of genetic manipulation, forced breeding programs, and colonialism with mature content including body horror and reproductive coercion. Butler's work requires mature readers who can grapple with challenging ethical questions.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, moderate sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include kidnapping, body horror, and forced pregnancy (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens who enjoy thought-provoking science fiction about identity and what it means to be human will find this story of a mixed-species boy navigating two cultures compelling.