“A heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, and yet ultimately hopeful novel by the amazing Rene Denfeld.” —Margaret Atwood, via TwitterAfter 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 … 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?
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Rene Denfeld does not disappoint in this follow up novel, The Butterfly Girl to The Child Finder While not quite as tense and dangerous-feeling as the first in series ( found it wandered a bit) I was game for the journey because Denfilelds prose is so beautiful even when dealing with ugly topics. Again, if you find child sexual abuse triggering (I do) be warned…but it is handled sensitively and without detail in a way I was able to stomach. Knowing about Denfield’s work as an investigator and a foster parent makes me even more invested in these books. She knows this dark world, and she brings light to it. Recommend both books!
Another book about the children forced to live on the streets. Due to drug-addled or alcoholic parents, physical or sexual abuse in the home. They’re the kids’ no one helps, the ones people pretend not to see. This is about Celia and her street friends, how they support themselves by panhandling or turning tricks so they can eat. The people who prey on them. It’s eye-opening and well written. Listened to in on audio straight through…as good as The Child Finder
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 butterfles 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.
The book is set to publish on October 1, 2019.
I read The Child Finder and then The Butterfly Girl in less than 2 days. How I loved these books !!! Naomi is back in The Butterfly Girl looking for her sister. Along the way she meets Celia a 12 year old street kid. The characters in the book feel like your friends. As Celia talks about the butterflies you see them. The descriptions are so vivid! The reader is taken on a journey with the characters and you feel and see everything with them. Some parts are very hard to read. Life on the streets is not easy for the street kids. As Celia is searching for her sister, there is an evil searching for her! This is a story of survival and redemption. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
Interesting concepts. Basically involves former and current child abuse and how those involved try to survive and heal.
It is with the greatest impatience that I awaited the publication of the sequel to Finding the Child. I rediscovered the delicate and subtle writing which allows the author to express the unspeakable. I nevertheless liked this novel a little less than the previous one because of the narrative which seemed to me less poetic and the urban framework than that of Finding the Child. But Butterfly Girl remains an excellent novel with a splendid cover! René Denfeld is a wonderdul writer I certainly will follow!
I loved The Child Finder and the second book in the series is even better. Naomi is such a complex character—the way she navigates the world and her relationships can never be separated from the trauma she experienced as a child. Celia, a twelve year old girl living on the streets, is also trying to move past the emotional wreckage of her earlier childhood. Celia and Naolmi’s stories are equally compelling and the way they intersect is unexpected, yet completely fitting. Denfeld uses her own experience of living on the streets as a child to make Celia’s story come alive. Her language is beautiful and the use of butterflies as a metaphor throughout the novel adds another layer of depth and richness.