BOOK REVIEW: BUTTERFLY SUICIDE BY MARY ANN LOESCH

Butterfly Suicide by Mary Ann Loesch

Published July 11,2017

Kindle Edition, 275 pages

MY GOODREADS RATING 4/5 STARS

(Thanks to Netgalley & Backlit PR, I received an eARC)

 

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

The blood on the cafeteria floor has been washed away and the bullet holes plastered over, but those words carved deeply into the back of the worn auditorium chair will always be a reminder for the students of Rockingham High School of what happened there last May. For Stephen Valley, the brother of infamous school shooter Jude Valley, that day is one he will never be allowed to forget—especially since the small town blames him for the loss of the seven students killed in Jude’s rampage. Unfortunately, poverty has a firm grip on his mother’s finances, imprisoning him in the bigoted town with no options to leave.

Monica Monroe, a self proclaimed Theatre Nerd, hates being known only as the sister of Jude Valley’s murdered girlfriend, Simone. Even though she’s never believed Jude killed her sister over a lover’s quarrel, she does blames herself for not seeing what a monster he was. When she is partnered with Stephen for an acting scene in Theatre class, Monica views this as an opportunity to finally get some answers. Being paired with Stephen proves to be dangerous for her emotional well being and her heart. When he is beaten up for being on her street, Monica realizes his life after the actions of Jude has been as traumatic as her own.

Drawn together by tragedy, the two stumble across a shattering secret which threatens to ruin their blossoming romance and destroy their families.

 

MY THOUGHTS:

This book had me hooked from the first paragraph. The book had so many different dynamics, from family to romantic. I thought there was a great amount of twists and turns, and I didn’t see any of them coming. I loved the last twist I feel like it made the whole book complete.

I thought it was great that the story was written in the points of view of the shooter’s brother, and the sister or the shooter’s girlfriend and victim. It made the story much more interesting the the two have had unknown crushes on each other for years. I found that Monica was an extremely empathetic person and liked her immediately, and Stephen I felt bad for right from the get go to be honest. Monica was in a confusing situation and really wanted to know why Jude did what he did, just like Stephen wanted to know.

Overall, I feel like people who are not triggered by school shootings, suicide, etc. would really enjoy this book. I feel like it went a lot deeper than I expected, and I liked that. I loved the main characters in the book, and found the secondary character great additions (to love or hate). If you are looking for a down to earth mysterious read, you can find it here.