She wanted to forget everything. The suffering, the insult and wanted to vanish into oblivion. But there were paper butterflies. Fluttering their wings and forcing her to forget her sorrow. Swaying in the breeze, they invited her to fly far away. June touched the butterflies with her fingertips. they reminded her of Sunshine and laughter. The good times she spent with her mother. Her chocolate-brown skin felt warm against the dusty cabin floor. But she didn’t want to go home.
Lisa Heathfield’s Paper Butterflies brings us June, an innocent child who tragically lost her mother. Her story unfolds as a reminiscence of the past: a cruel stepmother who is caring in public, a confused stepsister and her father, who cares for her yet unaware of her suffering. The author paints a painful picture of a child who gets bullied at school, her yearning for love and loss of hope in life. But then there were paper butterflies...
The story takes the reader through an emotional roller coaster. It is a mix bag of sadness with underlying hope and happiness. It captures the intense emotions of the characters and immerses the readers in it. You can go for a walk with June and her friend, Blister, through the rugged green terrain and abandoned cabins. Listen to their laughter and childish banter, cycle together on deserted roads, scream at the top of your lungs and set yourself free from reality.
The author well depicts the scared child emerging through her pain as a confident young person and the friendship between June and Blister eventually turning in to a beautiful love story. But, there were dark secrets hidden underneath, secrets that were never meant to reveal: a betrayal, a raging house fire, an untimely death, an open prison cell waiting to shatter June’s life. But then there were paper butterflies...
Do you want to fly away with Paper Butterflies? I recommend Lisa Heathfield’s young adult fiction for adult readers who love a beautiful yet heart wrenching story.
The E-book is available on Overdrive (Libby) through Greater Dandenong Libraries .
Ruwandhi
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