Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Check out all my book reviews at www.myliterary2cents.blogspot.com

My star rating system:
1 star – Awful! I couldn’t even read it.
2 stars – I only read part of it, couldn’t finish it.
3 stars – I read it all, and it was okay – not one of my favorites.
4 stars – I read it all and loved it!
5 stars – I read it all, loved it, and I would read it again!

I absolutely loved and hated this book. I am pretty sure I cried, gasped, and laughed throughout this whole book. The main character, June, is a little girl who is abused physically and emotionally by her step mother and little step sister. Her dad and teachers have no idea about what is going on with her even though she has tried to tell them many times. Not only does she have a horrible life at home, but the other children at school bully her. Her one little beam of hope comes one birthday when her dad gives her a new bike. As she is out exploring one day, she meets her soon to be best friend, Blister. He is the only thing that gets her through her days. 

The reader is taken on a sad journey of June's life up to her teenage years when the unthinkable happens! I am not going to reveal what happens, but I will just say that I did not see it coming.

This is a great book, but it is extremely sad. Don't read this book when you are not in a good state of mind.

This was really difficult and really amazing.  Well written, heart-wrenching, horrifying, and necessary.  It drove home, for me, the need to listen carefully when children talk. I would put this book in the hands of the quietly desperate children.

I'm not sure this book is suitable for the average teen, but if you want a book about abuse, about racism, about trauma, about what is and isn't love, this one is beautifully written. I highly recommend it for teachers, as a reminder that not all abuse leaves visible marks and that listening to children can save a life.

I was extremely intrigued when I read the synopsis of this book. Let me start by saying that the content of this book may not be for everyone. It focuses on abuse of a child and I know that that may be hard for some readers. And to be honest it was extremely hard for me. But the writing is excellent, and I continued reading hoping that June would prevail.

June's mother dies in a tragic accident and her father, Bradley, marries Kathleen who has a daughter (Megan) who is June's age (10 at the beginning of the story). June is half black and while her father tells her she is beautiful, Kathleen and her daughter tell her how ugly she is all the time. The level of abuse that June suffers at the hands of her step-mother is horrific and was hard to read. And the involvement of her step-sister was also hard to read. And while she makes some attempts to tell people what is happening to her, it falls on deaf ears to everyone, including her father. That is until she meets Blister.

Blister is her one true friend, and to see how their relationship blossoms throughout this novel was one of the few things that kept me reading. It was the light in a book that is littered with dark. Blister is the one person June can turn to, and even his family accepts her. But she knows she has to keep him hidden or her family will ruin the one positive thing she has in her life.

There were enough twists and turns in this novel to keep me turning the pages, my only complaint is that it seemed a little rushed at the end and not quite as detailed/fleshed out as I would have liked. But, other than that it was a great read with a hard topic.

Cool. I love a good cry at 1 a.m. Paper Butterflies broke my heart. 

The book alternates between present day and the childhood of June, a mixed-race child now growing up in a white family. She suffers psychological and physical abuse from her vindictive stepmother and her stepsister, who acts as accomplice, while her biological father remains none the wiser. Desperate for a respite, she finds a friend in Blister and his family. 

It's kind of obvious by now that books like this are kind of my bread and butter, and "Paper Butterflies" was so good. I felt a deep, visceral reaction to June and the abuse she suffered at the hands of her family and classmates.

If you can handle these kinds of books, "Paper Butterflies" is written so well and has a heartbreaking narrative to tell.

This was quite a difficult read for me, but important nonetheless. A story of friendship, child abuse, and secrets, I couldn't help but read it in one sitting. Characters like Blister show that beauty can thrive in a world of thorns.

This book made me feel like I was the one abused instead of June. I read warnings in other reviews that I shouldn’t read this if I’m not in a good emotional place or if I’m sensitive to scenes of abuse. I ignored the warnings, because the story was intriguing. God, they weren’t even exaggerating!

It’s rare for a novel to make me feel so emotionally connected that I’m almost convinced that it’s a reality. I was so angry and anxious as I read this that I wasn’t sure if I could finish it. I decided that I HAD to know how it ended, so I pushed through, especially during the abuse scenes. I’m so glad that I finished it and now I feel stronger for having read it. I feel like a true survivor of abuse.

This is hard to rate. Part of me wants to give it one star for making me feel so broken and another part of me wants to give it five stars for having the writing talent to evoke that feeling. It would be insulting to give it three stars, so I’m going with four.

I don’t know how many times I wanted to hurt Kathleen, yell at Megan, June’s father, and her classmates. I wanted to beat Kathleen within an inch of her life. I had to fight back the tears so many times. I had to keep reminding myself this isn’t happening to me. I can’t even give examples of some of the abuse June faced. I just don’t want to relive it.

Thank God for June’s friend Blister. He was such a savior and the most amazing friend you could ever imagine. It was such a blessing for June to meet him on that day. I don’t think June could have endured years of abuse without Blister on her side.

I really understood June. She was so terrified that she couldn’t speak up, except she did tell Blister some of it. I know what it feels like to be paralyzed with fear and feeling like everyone around you is ganging up on you. She faced abuse at home and bullying at school. Going to Blister’s house was her only reprieve.

    ”It wasn’t about courage. You had that. It was about opportunity and faith in human nature. Yet your faith in that was being destroyed.” 

June’s classmates would steal, put the stolen items in her book bag, and then tell school officials that they saw June steal it. Nobody believed her. That’s one of my biggest fears in life, being framed for a crime I didn’t commit and not being able to prove my innocence. I’ve had more than one nightmare about that.

    ”Sometimes, people are blind to what’s right in front of them,” he says calmly. 

This story brought up memories that I didn’t want to recall. My story isn’t nearly as bad as June’s is, but I’ve had my own traumatic experiences. I had relatives say and do hurtful things (physically hurtful things) to me only to be told, Jenny, stop being oversensitive. You need thicker skin. You need to learn to speak up to them. It’s your fault they treat you that way. You. You. You. Jenny, it’s all your fault. God, I just want to fucking scream! Sorry, the soap boxing is over.

My mind is still racing from this. I can’t seem to shut off those imagines in my mind. Granted, I feel like I’m suffering from PTSD after reading Paper Butterflies, I don’t regret reading it one bit. If you can endure a story of abuse, it’s worth reading. Just prepare yourself.

    ”Suffering produces endurance,” he reads. “And endurance produces character and character produces hope.” I feel his hand gently on my back. “And hope does not put us to shame.”

What a tough read, this one was.  Still, compelling enough to keep me going. 

June has it bad.  Her mom's been dead for years, which is tragic enough.  But her stepmom makes it even worse.  She's an evil stepmom in the most horrible way.  There's abuse, both physical and emotional.  The saddest part is that her dad is oblivious to everything. Through it all, June retreats inside herself to escape.  

And then she meets Blister.  On a walk through the woods one day, he's just there.  And he becomes the most important person in her life.  His family becomes her safe haven as well.  Still, she can't share her deepest darkest secrets with them.  Because if she had, maybe tragedy would have been averted...

A good story, both sad and hopeful at times.  Parts of it were hard to take, but it is what it is.

Couldn't finish this. It was very disturbing and I couldn't stomach it
This needs a warning for younger students or teens who would read this. It's very disturbing for me as an adult to read let alone a teenager. I only got though a few chapters and tried a few times but it was like watching a train wreck and I couldn't do it. I read reviews saying similar things and it's supposed to be a good book but I couldn't get through the negative abuse to see the light at the end of the tunnel

June's suffering at the hands of her stepmother and stepsister make life at home unbearable, and school is no better. Her mom is dead, her dad doesn't have any idea of what is happening to June, and her teachers ignore the bullying she suffers. Then one day June meets Blister in the woods, a boy who is home schooled nearby, and he provides an escape from her reality. 

The alternating time periods were difficult to follow at first, but the intended effect was not lost. Beautifully written and heartbreaking.

The story of abuse in this novel is emotional and raw. It tears at the soul.  But the non-linear timeline really detracted from the story for me. I kept wondering why we were always flashing forward and backwards and to what value did this literary device add to the narrative.