Mary Ann Loesch

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Backlit PR for allowing me to read and review this fabulous gem by Mary Ann Loesch. "Butterfly Suicide" is set in the aftermath of a school shooting, told from the perspective of two teens, the brother of the shooter, and the sister of one of the victims, which are great dual perspectives. What a fabulous job Loesch does of capturing the wide range of emotions festering in these two adolescents, in these two families, and in this small Texas town destroyed by what has happened.

Monica's perspective and the deep look into the twisted familial problems driving her end of the story, is of course, fascinating. But the real voice in this is Steven's, and the rightful rage he feels after spending the first thirteen years of his life living in fear of an unstable family member, never protected, and then having everyone in town turn on him and subject him to further physical abuse, as if he is to blame for Jude's rampage. I loved the way the author kept the twists and turns coming all the way until the end. A great read!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.… (plus d'informations)

It was so much more than I anticipated and I loved the other points of view explored around such delicate topics. It's easy to villianize someone as part of a whole, whether it be culture, race, clique, circumstance or otherwise based, without seeing them, the individual, for who they are. I mean, we're all guilty of it from time to time, so long as we correct those misconceptions, no harm no foul. In this case, MAJOR harm, MAJOR foul, and most were none too quick to leave things as they were. It took the strength of one girl, one that if they were going to jump to conclusions, no one would even bat an eyelash at because of her connection to the situation, to look beyond the frenzy, beyond the hurt of society, beyond her own pain, to see those affected on the other side. Does it fix things? No...not at first...but it does give some pause and that alone is sometimes enough to spark the change needed to find peace once again.
In the end, this book really gets to the heart of many issues. From how secrets can destroy lives to judging people based on their own merits, not of those surrounding them, all while dealing with a terrible tragedy times two (or more, depending on how you're keeping count). I was so proud of Monica for her reactions to things and how she kept striking out against the injustices being thrown in their faces even as she struggled to come to terms with the loss in her life. I really felt for Stephen and, despite his tendency to lash out, couldn't really blame him for it either as others treated him as less than dirt. It wasn't he who did the evilness, nor was it up to him to see the signs that may or may not have been there. It's easy to point the finger at others, to pinpoint instances that should have been red flags after the fact, but to the thing we have to remember is that we only know part of the story. Without the full picture, we can't say anything with utmost certainty, and playing the blame game gets us nowhere in the here and now.


**copy received for review… (plus d'informations)

It is kind of hard to do reviews on books like this. I am not saying it is hard in the context that the book was bad but more due to the subject matter of school shooting and mental illness. Although, the matter of mental illness is a very serious one and more awareness needs to be brought on this so that people can get the help that they need.

I thought the author did a good job with this book. Stephen and Monica were relatable. In fact, I really got upset some that they were treated so unkindly. However, seeing things from their view does make you think more about the fact that the families of killers are victims as well. To quote from the book "Perception is a powerful thing".… (plus d'informations)