My first Octavia Butler book, and it certainly won't be my last! 
 My favorite dystopia stories are those that show just how easily things can go sideways. Very little is scarier than realizing just how much society as we know it depends on people doing the "right" thing - once you have a sizable enough minority not behaving in the "right" way, it's a quick downward slide from there. 
 I loved almost everything about this book, up to and including the religious Earthseed talk. I know it was a turn-off for some, but I can buy it. When the world is burning down around you, I understand why a religion that says (view spoiler)[that our Destiny lies in the stars (hide spoiler)] would be attractive. 
 Not always an easy read, but definitely a worthwhile one.