Adulthood Rites

by Octavia E. Butler

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.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?