Name: The Butterfly Girl
Rating: 4.307692307692307 (13 reviews)
ISBN: 9781432872809

Rene Denfeld

From the highly praised author of The Child Finder and The Enchanted comes a riveting novel that explores the depths of love and sacrifice in the face of a past that cannot be left dead and buried.

The Butterfly Girl

“A heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, and yet ultimately hopeful novel by the amazing Rene Denfeld.” —Margaret Atwood, via Twitter After captivating readers in The Child Finder, Naomi—the investigator with an uncanny ability for finding missing children—returns, trading snow-covered woods for dark, gritty streets on the search for her missing sister in a city where young, homeless girls have been going missing and turning up dead. From the highly praised author of The Child Finder and The Enchanted comes The Butterfly Girl, a riveting novel that ripples with truth, exploring the depths of love and sacrifice in the face of a past that cannot be left dead and buried. A year ago, Naomi, the investigator with an uncanny ability for finding missing children, 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, searching for money, food, and companionship. The sharp-eyed investigator soon discovers that young girls have been going missing for months, many later found in the dirty waters of the river. 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?

A Novel

Derek Barlas

Really good. Street kids and and the children of migrant workers going missing.

Renee Blankenship

Thank you to the publisher for the free book. 

"What if we were all capable of lying to ourselves? But the story didn't bother Naomi. Instead it reassured her, confirming that the stories we tell ourselves have more meaning than the facts. That doesn't make them lies. Seeded with every myth was the emotional truth."

After reading The Child Finder a few weeks ago, I couldn't stop thinking about two things. One, was Rene Denfeld's writing. It floored me. The second was the main character, Naomi. Named "The Child Finder", Naomi pours her heart and sorrow at what happened to her as a small child into finding lost children while at the same time never giving up looking for the sister she left behind. Her story left me feeling heartbroken and I had to know what happened next to her on her journey to find her sister. 

The Butterfly Girl surprised me in a few ways. Mostly, that it seemed to focus primarily on Celia, a kid living on the streets because of her home life. I was anxious to read more about Naomi's story, her relationship with Jerome and the search for her sister. Before I knew it, I was equally invested in Celia's story and grieving for these kids on the streets. 

I was surprised also by how much this story touched on the horrors of kids living on the streets, kids abused and not believed, kids hungry and alone. My heart broke repeatedly as I read the descriptions of their lives out on the streets alone. What started out as a desire to learn more about Naomi's past and herself as a character, turned into a quest to find safety for Celia at every turn of the page. Nearing the end of the book I was feeling anxious and turning pages so quickly to make sure she was safe. 

Above all, Denfeld's writing pulled me in again, keeping me reading a story I most likely wouldn't have picked up because of the subject matter if it were written by anyone else. She has such a remarkable and memorable way of speaking through her characters, especially children. The way she writes from their viewpoints as they process such horrific events is what captivated me about The Child Finder and again with The Butterfly Girl. Reading both of these stories has been such a unique experience for me and one I won't forget any time soon.

The Butterfly Girl

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