User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
What if we are all capable of lying to ourselves?
3 1/2 stars. The Butterfly Girl is the sequel to The Child Finder, which I personally thought was a beautiful, eerie and atmospheric thriller. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much, but I do love how Denfeld focuses once again on the disadvantaged - the poor, the homeless, the abused - especially when it feels like every thriller is another upper-middle class domestic drama.
Where The Child Finder was predominantly about private investigator Naomi Cottle's search for a missing girl, this one turns its focus more onto Naomi herself, and her search for the sister she left behind years ago. Naomi has very few memories of her time being held captive as a child, but she knows one thing: she had a sister. A sister who didn't make it out with her. A sister she hopes may still be alive.
While the case of another young girl - Celia - becomes entwined with Naomi's search, I think this book lost a little something by mostly being about Naomi's missing sister. The novel was at times oversentimental and heavy-handed, with Denfeld's trademark poetic writing feeling too saccharine for the subject matter. The investigation seemed driven by emotion and instinct rather than logic, too.
Celia's story was far more interesting to me, even with all the parallels that can be drawn with Naomi's story. At twelve years old she has run away from her abusive father and is now living on the streets, exchanging sexual favours for cash. She, too, has a sister she left behind, and she is wracked by guilt that she couldn't and didn't protect her. The complex examination of Celia's guilt, plus the way the author shows how social systems frequently fail at-risk children, offer the most heart-wrenching and effective moments of the novel.
Mostly, I love how Denfeld reminds us of the people society has forgotten; the ones we look away from; the ones who we have failed. She continues to be a must-read author for me.
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Rating: really liked it
Lost. You can be lost even when you’ve been found. You can make the wrong turn in life even if you’re surrounded by people who love you. That was what suicide was, Naomi figured. It was choosing the final exit instead of another path. Not because you wanted to hurt anyone, but because you feel too hopeless to find your way home. There was more than one kind of suicide, too, more than one kind of leaving. How many people spend their entire lives not even knowing that they have already left?
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“Children of the forgotten. Harvested like the berries of the field.”
The Butterfly Girl (changed from an earlier title,
The Butterfly Museum) is the second in a series featuring private investigator Naomi Cottle. (The series opened with
The Child Finder, released in 2017) Twelve-year-old Celia is not being held captive by a creepy perv, but she is certainly at risk. She is more of a throwaway child, forced into living on the street by a sexually abusive stepfather and a junkie mother, whose addiction to illegal substances and her husband’s lies exceeds her love for her child, and any notion of decency. But
the streets were a kind of captivity, too. She has two besties, Rich and Stoner, a street family of three. Together they manage, picking up meals from a soup kitchen, sampling the daily delectables from dumpsters, and doing whatever is needed to bring in some cash for occasional stops at a deli, or luxuries, like bus rides. They dress in the latest designer fashions from the house of Goodwill, and have found a squat that has not yet become too dangerous, by virtue of being undiscovered by dark elements, or worse, by gentrifiers. Celia endures her fraught existence by imagining swarms of butterflies that offer her comfort and direction, and a heavenly image of a Butterfly Museum where she can enjoy their company in total safety.
Rene Denfeld - image from Jane Eaton Hamilton’s site
Naomi Cottle has made a career of searching for children still missing after the authorities have thrown in the towel. She has a gift. Well, a gift
and a ferocious tenacity. She understands that it takes not only insight, but several Imelda-size closets worth of shoe leather to get from
where? to
there! She has an extra bit of underlying motivation. She’d been held captive as a child herself, managed to escape, but not with her little sister. All she can remember is running in terror, barefoot, through strawberry fields. Snatches of that time come back to her in dreams, bit by bit. But her sister would be in her mid-twenties by now, and, really, what are the chances that she is still alive? Naomi decided a year ago to focus solely on the search for her sister, that search taking her to Portland. Girls, or, the remains of girls, have been turning up there in growing numbers, and Naomi is determined to find out if there might be any connection between these crimes and the taking of her and her sister.
Painted Lady - image from Cyprus-mail.com
In searching for clues to her sister’s whereabouts in Portland’s Skid Row, Naomi meets Celia, and feels a connection. She also notices a very scarred man who seems to be lurking about. Naomi follows clue after clue as the body count grows and the danger to Celia, and scores of other Portland street kids, increases.
Swallowtail - image from FactsAboutButterflies.net
One element furthering the connection between Naomi and Celia is that, like Naomi, Celia has a younger sister she wants to save. The evil stepfather is still in the scene and mom is still a junkie, making the danger to her sister a question of when rather than whether.
Viceroy - image from Wikipedia
We follow the tension of Naomi trying to have a personal life. Now married to her lifetime bff, Jerome, they struggle with life issues that may sound familiar, like what are we gonna do for money? since they have been exhausting their resources on Naomi’s full-time quest. Where are we gonna live? Can we put down roots somewhere, anywhere? We also see flaws in Naomi, as she sometimes misses things that are right in front of her because of her obsession with finding her sister.
Gray Hairstreak – image from Wiki
Denfeld brings to her writing a familiarity with street culture, and dark experiences. She has had plenty of her own. And has gotten to see much, much more in her day job as a private investigator, with particular focus on helping death row inmates. She wrote a non-fiction (
All God’s Children- 2007) about Skid Row life that has some very surprising conclusions. In this one, I particularly enjoyed seeing how Naomi interacted with official sorts, offering information, analysis, and insight in exchange for help finding her sister, not just relying on convenient snitches to keep the lead-feed rolling.
I grew up with a lot of trauma. My stepdad was a registered predatory sex offender, for instance. Much of my writing is informed by my own history, including my efforts to use my experiences to help others—I'm now a therapeutic foster mom and investigator as well as author. I did have someone close to me disappear when I was a child. It was extremely traumatic, and helps me understand when working with those who are dealing with such terrifying losses. - From GR’s Ask the Author
White Tree Nymph - image from The Boardwalk.com
Her other superpower is a poetic sensibility that is mesmerizing. She brings to
The Butterfly Girl the same appreciation for beauty, the same admiration for imagination, and the same command of language that she wielded so deftly in her prior two books. She also shows times where unchecked imagination can get one into trouble.
Great Spangled Fritillary - image from Oregon Conservation Strategy.org
Despite this being a riveting read, the notion of imagination as a saving grace, while fabulous, seems maybe a bit too similar to the mechanism the young captive used in book #1 of this series. On the other hand, the notion of captivity extending to circumstances in which one may be able to physically move about, but which are still hugely constraining is perceptive and very real. Another difference from prior Denfeld novels is her portrayal of the baddie. Previous books offered a closer look at the humanity of the people doing awful things. Although there is a bit of history presented on how the perp came to be such a twisted sort, it seemed thinner to me than the more faceted depictions of her previous bad actors.
Sagebrush checkerspot - image from ButterfliesandMoths.org
One extra bit you should take from
The Butterfly Girl is the portrait of a social realm that makes it into the news-maw only when someone not of the place is done in. The street life of homeless Portland children is no less Dickensian for being a century and a half removed from the London he showed the world. The same conditions are likely to be present in most American cities. One particular gap in social service attention to younger homeless residents is surprising and rage-inducing, as the kindness of the caring institutions and individuals trying help them is warming, and hope-sustaining. And while assaults by the better-off on those down on their luck is a popular sport in the nation’s capital and in many state capitals, that hostility is made personal and kinetic here.
Red admiral - image from Insects of Alberta.com
One of the things that makes this such a resonant book is that Denfeld shows how a culture of rape and abuse can flourish when perpetrators are people of means and their targets are not. Headlines about Jeffrey Epstein’s long history of raping children, without being held to serious account offers a particularly relevant real-world example. The novel looks at how the silence of uninvolved people in the face of obvious wrong-doing allows such outrages to persist, and how victims of powerful criminals cannot count on the legal system to come to their defense.
White Peacock - image from Wiki
You will keep flipping the pages of
The Butterfly Girl to see how Naomi fares on her quest, and if Celia can remain beyond the clutches of the mysterious Portland killer. But as you read, you may notice that the beauty of Denfeld’s writing leaves small sparkles on your hands, and in your head, bits of literary pollen that attach and nourish. She remains a poet with a deep appreciation of beauty, in the world, in the imagination, and in language. She possesses a gift for story-telling, writing engaging characters, and shining a bright light into some very dark places. If you are searching for a smart, soulful, engaging, mystery/thriller, you would do well to alight on
The Butterfly Girl. It is a nourishing, satisfying read that is also a thing of remarkable beauty.
Mardon Skipper - image from Fish and Wildlife Service
I had an extremely difficult childhood and every day after school I'd go to the public library, which was my sanctuary. I learned early about the power of story and imagination to save lives—the poetry of the books became the poetry of my life, the ability to find hope even in despair. In writing fiction I feel I can capture that poetry of life and the lessons I've learned. - from the GR Ask the Author
Review posted – July 12, 2019
Publication dates
----------Hardcover - October 1, 2019
----------Trade Paperback - August 4, 2020
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EXTRA STUFFThe author’s personal, Twitter, and Facebook pages
Previous Denfeld books I have read and reviewed-----2017 - The Child Finder (Naomi Cottle #1)
-----2014 - The Enchanted
Interviews-----The Center for Fiction - An Interview with Rene Denfeld on The Child Finder
-----The Rumpus - It’s Never Too Late to be Found: A conversation with Rene Denfeld- by Kelly Thompson – 9/4/17
-----Goodreads - Ask the Author
-----The Bulletin - Author’s dark and moving fiction is rooted in reality - by Kim Himstreet – July 5, 2018
While you might assume Denfeld’s work and advocacy could wear her down or make her cynical, the author said in a 2017 interview with The Rumpus, “The longer I’ve done this kind of work, the more I’m in awe at the resiliency and the strength of the human spirit, and the more I feel connected with the magic of the world. I think the world is full of magic.”
-----Kirkus Reviews - Fully Booked - by Kurt Andersen – audio – from about 33:00 – about The Child Finder, but still relevant
-----Jaggery - Drunk on Ink Q & A with Rene Denfield and ‘The Child Finder’ - by Soniah Kamal on August 7, 2018
My earliest memories include running to the public library every day after kindergarten. I would build walls of books and lose myself in them, and not leave until closing…books were my sanctuary. As a young child I especially loved fairy tales and fables. Think about it. Where else can someone be imprisoned in dungeons, roasted in ovens and trapped by evil and still find a way to survive? Fairy tales are messages of hope for those trapped in trauma.
-----Portland Monthly - Writer and Private Investigator Rene Denfeld on Portland Sexism by Zach Dundas - 2015
-----Portland Tribune – News - Street life — and death - by Nick Budnick - January 25, 2007
Because in Summer 2019 GR reduced the allowable size of reviews by 25% it was necessary to move some of this review into the comment section - See Comment #3 below
Rating: really liked it
As Henry David Thoreau said: “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves”
Naomi is back, a brilliant investigator, a child finder, who was also tormented and lost kid, achieved to run away from her capturer but left her sister behind, now bringing the children back their homes, she also try to help herself to bring back her lost memories to find any crumble of truth about her past to find her sister.
This time Naomi and her husband, partner, childhood friend from foster home helping her hold onto her life and following new traces about Naomi’s sister case. (They decided not to get new lost cases till they find her, even they’re financially struggling)
But their investigation crosses with the several lost girls’ cases whose bodies found in the river some time later. Even though Naomi wanted to fully concentrate on finding her own sister, her connection with 12 year homeless girl Celia who created herself a fantasy world filled in butterflies to endure her struggling and depressingly hard life conditions as neglected abuse victim, living with the other kids on the streets, forced her to help those kids.
This book is really dark, suffocating, extremely realistic, even the pacing is fast enough and mysterious parts hook you from the beginning, you feel like breathless and want to take breaks for fresh air. The cold facts of the foster kids’ lives force them to grow faster are harsh slaps hit on your face. You feel shaky, emotionally unbalanced. You want to scream, curse, cry and do something to change things for them. You deeply feel every pain, every wound, every scar they had especially the emotional scars cannot be seen and cannot be healed throughout their entire lives.
Reading a book was watching a dark, thrilling, heart throbbing European movie with all gory, realistic scenes taken place at dirty, dilapidated, abandoned streets and we slowly watch the poor little children’s turning into wild savages to protect themselves from the jackals who are blood thirsty for fresh preys.
But I can happily say that at least the author show us the light at the end of the tunnel and give us big pieces of hope that we can hold on to get up and wipe our crying faces, lighten our blue and saddened moods. Conclusion of the story made me smile, whisper several “thank you” to the author.
Because of the heart shuddering, claustrophobic, completely dark parts pushed me lower my stars but the beautiful connection between Celia and Naomi, all those soul brushing, lyrical, amazing words and hard work and investigation about real life cases based on this book made me change my mind to give five shining, hopeful, strong, powerful stars to this book because the gifted author’s fantastic job fully deserved to a genuine tribute!
I loved Celia’s dream world which helped her getting through her painful life and protecting her from real monsters of the life.
This made me remember this inspirational quote: “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is broken winged bird, that cannot fly.”
No matter what happens in your life, keep on dreaming!
Rating: really liked it
“But mostly, in her secret heart, she was a butterfly, with magic wings beating hard for escape.”
The Butterfly Girl is a tragic but hopeful story that recounts the tragic events from one woman’s past which bind her to a young girl in the present. Both are running from their pasts, both feel an immense amount of guilt and are tempted to give up on life, but they are compelled to keep living for their sisters. Celia, a 12-year-old street kid, is turning tricks to get by, lives in a fantastical world of butterflies. They are her escape from her tragic childhood and keep her safe. Every day she struggles to survive the danger of life on skid row. The danger intensifies when young girls start disappearing from the streets--their bodies turn up days and sometimes months later in an industrial canal. Celia becomes a target, but an encounter with Naomi Cottle, the "child finder," changes the trajectory of her life.
Naomi, a private investigator who specializes in finding missing children, first comes across Celia on skid row. Naomi is roaming the streets, looking for her sister whom she left over 20 years ago when she ran away from captivity. While looking for her sister, she gets caught up in the missing girls' case. While she feels a connection with Celia, her missing sister consumes her, putting Celia’s life in danger.
Celia’s story, which mirrors Naomi’s, is uncomfortable and hard to read. Sexual and physical abuse occurs frequently. There were times when I had to put this book down and clear my mind. However, the parts where Celia escapes to her dream world filled with butterflies offers some relief. The writing is lyrical and Denefeld’s personal experiences add a layer of authenticity to the narrative. Overall, this was an emotional and difficult read but the ending left me feeling hopeful. I strongly recommend reading book #1 The Child Finder before reading The Butterfly Girl. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars
"Lost. You can be lost even when you've been found. You can make the wrong turn in life even if you're surrounded by people who love you."The Butterfly Girl is the second in the Naomi Cottle a.k.a. the Child Finder series. It can be read as a stand-alone but I highly recommend reading the first book in the series, The Child Finder first as I found it to be exceptional.
In this book, Naomi is still looking for her sister while interacting with "street (homeless) kids" in Portland, Oregon. There she has learned that young girls have gone missing only to have their bodies found in the river some time later. Naomi wants to dedicate her time to locating her sister but can't resist the pull of the homeless teens -especially a teen named Celia. A young teen who hopes one day to visit the butterfly museum and save her own sister. Each identifies with the other.
"...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."I found Denfeld's writing to be lyrical, poetic and beautifully poignant. She doesn't shy away from difficult subjects and gently places them in the readers face. Reading about homeless teens, crimes against children and what one needs to do to survive on the streets might be difficult, but we can't pretend these things do not exist. They exist more than we even know or may want to acknowledge. In her acknowledgements section, she writes with admiration and love for the librarians in Portland, Oregon who cared for her when she herself was a homeless kid. How public libraries and books saved her. She writes from a place of familiarity and personal knowledge.
Besides her deep and personal knowledge about the subjects she writes about, she writes using beautiful descriptions and imagery. The words, like the butterflies, flew off the pages, flew over my head and gracefully landed back on the pages. Riveting, captivating, thought provoking and suspenseful, this one had me from page one. With two plot lines going on at the same time, I usually prefer one over the other but in this case, I was equally invested in both and thoroughly enjoyed how she wove them together. Plus, how about that beautiful cover!
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Rating: really liked it
Naomi is an investigator who finds missing children. Her sister has been missing for years and she is looking for her. Naomi was separated from her when she escaped captivity, and her sister was left behind.
Naomi is in Oregon, Portland and there are children who are homeless and they are found living
on the streets. Naomi meets Celia who is a young girl and she was found living in the streets. Naomi does not have a picture of her sister, not even a name. She only has one memory of a strawberry field, black dirt, under her bare feet as she ran for her life.
Well I was disappointed in this one. I loved The Child Finder. This one lost the thrill for me. I didnt feel it. I really struggled with this book. I even reread several parts thinking maybe I missed something.
Now that ending, was earth shattering! I loved it. It was so dark. Once I hit 80%, I couldnt put it down. But that was a little too late for me. I felt like I was missing something before this. There just wasnt really any suspense or any umph to get me to want more. I dont mind a book being unrealistic in a thriller and I did find it a little unrealistic.
I didnt feel a strong connection with Naomi. I felt that she was a totally different character in this book comparing it to The Child Finder. I did find a connection with Celia's character. My heart really went out to her. She went through so much and it was heartbreaking. No child should have to go through what Celia went through.
I really loved the writing style. It was beautifully written. This one can be read as a stand alone. I think that I just had too high expectations after reading The Child Finder.
I really wanted to love this one.
Since I did love the ending, the writing style and liking several parts of it I am giving it 3.5 stars rounded down.
This was a Traveling Sister Group Read and we all had mixed feelings.
I want to Thank Edelweiss, Harper Collins, and the author for my copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
2.5 stars.
I fault myself for setting my hopes and expectations too high for this sequel. A disappointing continuation of the series for me.
After loving The Child Finder last year, I was eager to get my hands on a copy of this book. While I did find it an easy, quick and enjoyable read, it didn’t come close to the enjoyment I had while reading The Child Finder. The main character, Naomi, who was so strong and admirable in the first book, lacked the strength and endearing qualities I was hoping to reconnect with. She felt like less of a focus in this book which was disappointing. I didn’t “feel” anything for her.
The author did an excellent job creating a vivid and atmospheric look into the lives and struggles of homeless children. It was an eye-opening journey that had me shocked and upset for what many innocent children have to endure to survive on the streets. It was heartbreaking.
An issue I had with the novel was that Naomi’s personal mission throughout this book felt far fetched and somewhat forced. The situation didn’t seem plausible and therefore, I wasn’t invested in that part of the storyline.
I know I’m in the minority with my thoughts on this and a large part of my disappointment stems from me going in with very high expectations. Please check out the many raving reviews for this novel before making your decision.
Thank you to Edelweiss for providing me with an ARC to read and review!
Expected date of publication: October 1, 2019.
Rating: really liked it
The second in the Naomi Cottle series, this novel is easily read as a standalone. As always with Denfeld, the writing is lyrical and the subject matter is difficult. Sexually abused and neglected young children thrown away as trash try to live as best they can on dangerous streets. Some of these kids turn to drugs and most turn tricks. For eleven year old Celia hope comes from her imagination and obsession with butterflies. A library is her refuge. The ‘child finder” Naomi Cottle encounters Celia as she becomes enmeshed in a search for the perpetrator of missing and murdered girls while she tries to find her lost sister. Denfeld’s portrayal of these street kids, the system they’re up against, and their yearning resonates with authenticity and empathy.
Rating: really liked it
The stories we tell ourselves have more meaning than the facts. That doesn’t make them lies. The Butterfly Girl is the second book in the
The Child Finder series with private investigator Naomi. Though it can be read as a standalone, I would recommend that you read the first book in the series, as it will tie all the loose ends.
Naomi, the investigator with an uncanny ability for finding missing children, is trying to find her younger sister who has been missing for years. Naomi has no picture, not even a name. The search takes her to Portland, Oregon, where scores of homeless children wander the streets. She soon discovers that young girls have been going missing for a month. During her search, Naomi gets emotionally attached to a twelve-year-old girl named Celia who is running from an abusive stepfather. As danger creeps closer, Naomi and Celia find that their lives are more connected than they can imagine.
It’s hard to rate a book like The Butterfly Girl because it’s not a regular murder mystery or police procedural. The Butterfly Girl is an emotional story of hope and redemption that somehow binds the lives of two unconnected but very similar individuals. Both having a traumatic past and an uncertain future but both sharing an unspoken bond. In a way, Naomi sees her own past in Celia’s present.
This story is dark, emotional and extremely realistic. The author did an excellent job of depicting the lives and struggles of homeless children. The many challenges they have to face just to survive every day was truly heartbreaking. Denefeld’s personal experiences as a street kid and now as an investigator; helping sex trafficking victims have added a level of authenticity to the story making you feel emotionally connected to the kids and their struggles.
The writing is beautiful and poetic. The writer has beautifully explored the connection between Celia and Naomi. I especially loved the imagery of butterflies, used to depict Celia’s dream world; as her way to escape her painful life.
Celia is a memorable character; one which will stay with you long after the story is over. Celia’s life, which mirrors Naomi’s, is uncomfortable and hard to read at times. The story has a lot of instances of sexual and physical abuse but it was dealt with a lot of empathy.
The mystery surrounding Naomi’s sister felt a bit stretched and with too many coincidences rather than investigative work. The way both the tracks merged also felt too convenient. I liked the emotional story of Celia, so I would have liked if the story had focused more on Naomi & Celia’s story.
Overall, The Butterfly Girl is an emotional and moving story. I would recommend the readers to read the first part to appreciate this book better.
3.5 stars out of 5. Many thanks to the publishers HarperCollins, the author Rene Denfeld and Edelweiss for the ARC.
Rating: really liked it
This author never seizes to amaze me. What great books she has written, and The Butterfly Girl, again, heartbreaking. Seriously good, seriously sad and dark, but always hope. A seriously good book, which I read breathlessly. Amazing, shocking, beautiful, sad, all in one. Like the first two books of Denfeld I read. Not only an excellently written story, but the language... simple and poetic. Seriously impressed, seriously loved this book, the third book of this author and I rated all three 5 stars. Favorite author. Curious where she will go from here. Continue with Naomi, the Childfinder? Or a new storyline, new characters? Bring it on. Truly recommended. Big five stars & big highlight of this reading year for me!
The story: One 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 her younger sister... all she remembers from her long ago past is a strawberry field at night, and the black dirt under her bare feet as she ran for her life. The few leads that she has brings her to Portland, Oregan, where scores of homeless children wander the streets, searching for money, food and drugs. Naomi soon discovers that young girls have been going missing for months, many later found floating in the dirty waters of the river. Though reluctant to get involved, Naomi is unable to resist the pull of children in need and the fear she sees in the eyes of a 12-year old girl, Celia, running from an abusive stepfather and an addict mother. Meantime Naomi seems to get closer to more info about her younger sister....
Rating: really liked it
3.5*This is book two of the Naomi Cottle series. And while the first sits firmly on my favorites’ shelf, this one unfortunately won’t be keeping it company. It just lacked the magic Rene Denfeld gave us in her previous read.
Naomi Cottle cannot move forward in her marriage or career until she makes peace with her past.
And the only way she can do that is to find her younger sister she left behind. With little to go on, nothing will deter Naomi from turning over every rock! After all she is known as
The Child Finder. Sometimes you can’t stop running. As Naomi hits the streets of Portland she encounters a young runaway girl named Celia. A lost child, alone in a cold, bitter world. She survives the streets by living in her
“Butterfly World.” It’s her sanctuary, an imaginary place where the butterflies protect her and keep her safe. I loved Celias’ character and her strength at such a tender age to survive.
The ending made for some pretty interesting (and fun) discussions in this buddy read with Susanne!🦋
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Collins for an ARC to read and review.
Rating: really liked it
This lacked the lustre of Denfeld’s previous works. The writing remained awesomely simple and descriptive to follow; but, too much of not much happening. Naomi, returns in search of her missing sister, meets a street girl who compartmentalizes herself with butterflies.
This one reminded me more of a flat Stanley given her flare with Enchanted and Child Finder.
It did ramp up towards the end, but by then I was feeling a little under fluttered.
Interesting that Denfeld, too, was a homeless kid and how she herself became a foster and adoptive mom. I agree with her - libraries brought me joy and introduced me to bold, beautiful and sometimes stunningly disturbing worlds. It still does.
Want to see more from you, Denfeld. With the sparkle and captivation you held with your other stories.
3.75 ⭐️
Rating: really liked it
***NOW AVAILABLE***
This is the first book by Ms. Denfeld that I have read, I did not read The Child Finder and this book works well as a stand alone. This book touched me deeply, as do most book involving children. I thought the first third was a bit slow but it was informative for me since I didn’t read the first book which introduced the readers to Naomi. After that I was completely involved in the book and couldn’t put it down.
Naomi is an investigator who specializes in finding missing children. She herself was held captive for many years, along with her younger sister Sara. Twenty years ago she was able to escape but the only memory she has is running through a strawberry field and being helped by immigrants who were working the fields who found her and took her to the proper authorities. Naomi still believes that her sister could be alive. She decided to spend the previous year doing nothing but searching for her sister. Her search led her back to Portland, Oregon for several reasons. She is now married to her former foster brother and best friend Jerome who is extremely supportive of Naomi. Because neither of them have worked in a long time they have moved in with Naomi’s long time friend Diane.
As Naomi continues to dig deeper into finding her sister she comes across a 12 year old street girl, Celia, who is a runaway from an abusive situation. She too has left behind a sister, Alyssa, who she is very worried about. Her stepfather sexually abused Celia and she is afraid that he is now targeting Alyssa. Her mother is a junkie and alcoholic who is not much use as a mother and continues to live with the abusive stepfather.
Celia is an amazing young girl who manages to live on the streets along with her best friends Rich and Stoner. They dig the dumpsters for food and find shelter for the night in a sheltered area that is farther from skid row, it seems safer there. What she goes through as a street kid is heartbreaking and eye opening.
Celia has created an escape through her mind of visions of butterflies surrounding her and possibly protecting her. She spends her days in the library reading books about butterflies and drawing pictures with the free paper provided by the library. The librarian keeps Celia’s special book behind the counter where she can always ask for it. Many of her secret thoughts are also drawn along with the butterfly pictures. “When the butterflies talked to Celia, it was like the sweetest notes of music. She could hear them coming from afar. She could see them now, covering the misty library windows. They were above the fantastic chandeliers, flying all around, as thick as fabric flowers above the bowed heads of readers”
There is a horrific child predator who has been picking up girls and woman, sometimes keeping them for a long period, sometimes using them and dumping them into the river. The police haven’t been able to find him, but as we will find out he is hiding in plain sight.
I don’t want to give away any more of the plot of this great novel. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a “thriller” but more of a mystery with strong messages of the plight of throwaway children and abused children who are constantly being returned to their homes, the foster and childcare system is not working and there is a great need for advocates for these kids.
The author herself was a street kid and she brings that knowledge to the story which is the power of emotion that I felt in this book. I began searching the internet to find numbers of current missing children and found that this site http://www.missingkids.com/home, which is the website for The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has lots of information and numbers of children missing and kidnapped in the USA, the numbers are staggering. The more I read the more I felt that this book should be read by everyone as it is a great educational tool as well as a great story.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.
Rating: really liked it
A second outing for Naomi, the child finder. She has vowed not to work anymore cases until she finds her sister. The problem is she remembers so little of the place she escaped from, she only remembers singing to her little sister when she was afraid. Young street girls are bring murdered, their bodies pulled from the river. This gets Naomis attention and she and her husband travel to find out whatever they can. She meets a young girl, Celia,only twelve living on the street, who may have answers she doesn't know she has.
As a former street child herself, our authors paints these scenes with accuracy and poinancy. Another group of throwaway people, children, that as a society we look away from. Denfeld also includes something that makes her stories memorable, in this case butterflies. You will have to read to find out what they mean in the book. Lastly, it is a book about sisters, the ties that bind, showing how far one will go to protect someone they love.
I love her books because besides being mysteries, they are darn good at poking holes in the way we view our society. There is always a message, but are we strong enough to see.
ARC from Edelweiss.
Rating: really liked it
I'm between 4 and 4.5 stars.
Naomi Cottle is a child finder. She's often the investigator desperate parents turn to when they have no other avenue left to try and find their missing children, and Naomi succeeds where others have failed. But this responsibility takes a great emotional toll on her.
Naomi can find missing children because once she, too, was a missing child. But she was lucky and was able to escape from the person who had kept her captive, although she had to flee without her sister. Sadly, she had no memories of that time, and all these years later, she can barely remember anything about her sister except vague memories of a field she ran through as she escaped. She is haunted by the fact that she didn't keep her promise to protect her sister.
A year ago, Naomi decided not to take any new cases until she finds her sister. Her search takes her to Portland, Oregon, where homeless teenagers roam the streets by day and night, doing whatever they can to survive. Someone has been kidnapping young girls off the streets, and many are found dead later, floating in the river. Naomi is troubled by this epidemic of violence, and even though she doesn't want to get involved, she can't turn away, especially as she wonders what parallels these kidnappings and murders might have with her sister's case.
When Naomi meets Celia, a troubled 12-year-old who took to the streets after a horrible family situation took a bad turn, she recognizes some similarities with her own life, and she wants to protect Celia like she was unable to do her own sister. And Celia also has a sister to protect. The only thing helping Celia through her ordeal are the butterflies—the beautiful phantoms she sees on the streets, following her and keeping her company. They remind her of a happier time with her mother and her sister, and she wishes she could just fly away like they do.
As Naomi digs deeper into her sister's whereabouts, and Celia tries to right her situation and protect her own sister, they both find themselves being drawn deeper and deeper into an evil web, a web that has the potential to destroy all they love—as well as themselves.
The Butterfly Girl is a beautifully written book about those who are lost and desperate to be found, as well as those who are seen but still feel lost. It's a story about feeling powerless to change situations around you, no matter how hard you fight, and how easy it is to shut others out as you fight your battles. It's also a troubling story of how so many children on the margins can find themselves at risk, with no one to advocate for or protect them.
Rene Denfeld's first two books,
The Enchanted and
The Child Finder (in which Naomi's character was introduced) were emotional, gorgeously told stories. While
The Butterfly Girl started a bit slowly for me, it picked up steam as the book went along, and there is so much poignancy and vivid imagery in this story.
Even though this features the same character from
The Child Finder , you could read this book without reading its predecessor. But I'd definitely recommend that you pick that one up, because once again, Denfeld's talent with prose and imagery is something to behold.
This book definitely made me think, and it made me sad for those who have to fight these battles. It once again proves what an amazing storyteller Denfeld is.
NetGalley and HarperCollins provided me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!
This book will be published October 1, 2019.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
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