The Butterfly Girl

A Novel

By: Rene Denfeld

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

The Butterfly Girl is 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?

Sappy story

Full of technical holes. Not recommended. So.... it took 24 years for protagonist to begin to search for her sister. Guess she had more important things to do.

The Butterfly Girl

This book came into my radar from reading through a list of popular books on the GoodReads website - which I tend to do from time to time. So, I went ahead and purchased it because the premise of the book intrigued me. Now, once I got into the thick of it all, the story really opened up for me. I’ll admit, it’s a slow burn though - almost a little too slow but once it revs up it keeps you in. I appreciated how the author would blend the surrealism of the characters inner worlds into the, often times, stark and dark realities of their real world. It was a lovely way to highlight how the power of the mind can transform and transport you to places of solace to keep you alive in hardest of circumstances. Overall, good book! Now that I know there was book prior to this, I’ll be picking up a copy of that too. The author has made me a fan of her works!!

The sorrow of street kids

This was well written. A hard read/story. I will think differently of the street people. The book will make you more aware.

An incredible detailed story of the world

It took me by surprise from the beginning with the amount of details and how easily the story and the narration located me in all those places Naomi and Selia wandered. And as the story evolved, the characters lead us to an adventure of heroes, villains and people.

Amazing

I love both books. I listened to this one in one day!!! It definitely made me cry a couple of times!!