Butterfly Review

Title: Butterfly

Author: Sonya Hartnett
Pages: 240

Publisher: Candlewick

Publication Date: August 24, 2010

My Edition: ARC Paperback

Reading Level: Young Adult

Received from: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Summary from Goodreads:

Plum Coyle is on the edge of adolescence. Her fourteenth birthday is approaching, when her old life and her old body will fall away, and she will become graceful, powerful, and at ease. The strength of the objects she stores in a briefcase under her bed —a crystal lamb, a yoyo, an antique watch, a coin —will make sure of it. Over the next couple of weeks, Plum’s life will change. Her beautiful neighbor Maureen will begin to show Plum how she might fly. The older brothers she adores will court catastrophe in worlds that she barely knows exist. And her friends, her worst enemies, will tease and test, smelling weakness. They will try to lead her on and take her down. BUTTERFLY is a gripping, disquieting, beautifully observed coming-of-age novel by an acclaimed author at the top of her form.

Review:

Butterfly was a very weird but beautifully written story about an awkward teenage girl growing up with many insecurities and friend troubles. Plum seemed very different but interesting and had many issues including: a weird family, body issues, and mean friends. There wasn't much going on in the story besides Plum's everyday life, so it was pretty hard for me to keep wanting to read the story. It took me about two weeks to finish the 200+ pages of the book which is very slow for me since I can read a book that size in about 2 hours, so that definitely wasn't a good sign. The only thing that did keep me wanting to read the story was the very nice, well-written writing style. 

It was definitely an interesting and unique read but just not for me. The author is Australian and the story takes place in Australia, so the location didn't make much of a difference in the plot. The characters were all very strange especially the lonely next door neighbor who used Plum to be like a teenager again and also to get closer to her older brother. Plum's friends were very cruel, pretty, and mean at times, so I sort of understand why Plum kept some of their objects under her bed. She just wanted to fit in with her friends but learns that fitting in isn't always the best or easiest thing to do. 

When I finally finished the book, I wasn't satisfied by the ending because it kind of just stopped and didn't wrap everything together. The part right before the ending seemed to be the best part of the book because of the conflict and action between Plum and her friends, her brothers, and the next door neighbor. Butterfly wasn't at all bad, it just wasn't the type of book that I enjoyed. I however would recommend it to someone who likes coming of age stories with awkward characters.


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