Book Review: Star Child

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi is a truly unique biography covering the life of one of history’s greatest science fiction writers. Zoboi tells Butler’s life through a series of poems, prose, photos, and quotes from Butler’s lifetime, with the chapter titles often coming from Butler’s own work. This unique format even extends to how the poems are shaped. The poems about Butler’s mother during her pregnancy are rounded in shape, just like her mother would have been. Often two poems are paired and mirror each other, giving the reader multiple ways to read them. The poems capture the emotions of each time period, followed by a more detailed prose section giving additional context. I enjoyed how the prose and the poems worked together. Star Child is not concerned with giving the reader every detail of Butler’s life, so much as a sense of her personhood and passion for storytelling. The book is a short, accessible biography that can be enjoyed by all ages. As a fan of Octavia Butler’s work, I enjoyed seeing Zoboi’s love and admiration for her subject shine through. Zoboi shares a birthday with Butler and met her twice before Butler’s early death. Star Child is a fantastic introduction to Octavia Butler, whether or not you’ve read any of her work before (which you should). This book would be especially important for any young or curious writers to read and see Butler’s dedication to her craft. I hope that Zoboi’s biography gets you interested in exploring the many worlds of Octavia Butler.

If this title sounds intriguing, you can pick up a copy locally from Artefaktual in Philippi, WV!