Review: The Butterfly Girl

Title: The Butterfly Girl

Author: Rene Denfeld

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Harper through Jonathan Ball Publishers

Date Published: 1 October 2019

Goodreads Description:  Naomi made a promise that she would not take another case until she finds the younger sister who has been missing for years. Naomi has no picture, not even a name. All she has is a vague memory of a strawberry field at night, black dirt under her bare feet as she ran for her life.

The search takes her to Portland, Oregon, where scores of homeless children wander the streets like ghosts. The sharp-eyed investigator soon discovers that young girls have been going missing for months. Though she does not want to get involved, Naomi is unable to resist the pull of children in need—and the fear she sees in the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl named Celia. Running from an abusive stepfather and an addict mother, Celia has nothing but hope in the butterflies—her guides and guardians on the dangerous streets. She sees them all around her, tiny iridescent wisps of hope that soften the edges of this hard world and illuminate a cherished memory from her childhood—the Butterfly Museum, a place where everything is safe and nothing can hurt her.

As danger creeps closer, Naomi and Celia find echoes of themselves in one another, forcing them each to consider the question: Can you still be lost even when you’ve been found? But will they find the answer too late?

I was given a review copy by Jonathan Ball Publishers. All opinions are my own. 

Story

As you all know I tend to read some crime/thriller novels from time to time. The Butterfly Girl was one of my last reads of 2019 and I really enjoyed the story. It follows the POV of both Naomi and Celia and I loved having two perspectives of the story. The pacing was fine and the book was relatively short, so it was a quick and enjoyable read.

Writing

I’m not a fan of lyrical writing, and this book contains some verse, but I still enjoyed it. It took me a few pages to get used to the writing style. After that, I quickly got sucked into the book and the story.

Characters

The only problem I had with this book was the characters. This book is supposedly the second book in a series (I’m still not completely sure) and I really struggled to relate to the characters and connect with them. The Butterfly Girl deals with some terrible things that happen to people, making it hard to read sometimes. However, Celia’s imagination and the ending of the book make it all worthwhile.

Have you read The Butterfly Girl? Share your thoughts with me. Read some of my other reviews here.

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