Review: Nobody’s Butterfly by Claire Davis and Al Stewart

Title: Nobody’s Butterfly

Authors: Claire Davis and Al Stewart

Length: 73 Pages

Category: Magical Realism, Holiday, Teen Fiction, Hurt/Comfort

At a Glance: Nobody’s Butterfly is a sweetly poignant novella that blends humor and a touch of magical realism with the story of two boys who find comfort, love and acceptance in each other.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: Cobweb ghosts are so inconvenient—especially grumpy ones with bad breath. Don’t they know silence is golden?

Johnny Strong is the expert; he hasn’t spoken in two years. Not one word to anyone except the ghost. The main purpose of life is to avoid people and not get noticed. Friends? He doesn’t need them; and certainly nobody wants him despite what the ghost says.

Until a new boy appears at Windybank—Finn Lyons, teenage wizard. He eats frogs, concocts potions, and is always hungry. Not only does Finn stand up for Johnny; he actively seeks his company and soon becomes part of life.
First love; family and words; a heady mix to go in the potion but how will it all turn out?

Hubble bubble; Johnny Strong’s in trouble! Silence is not always golden in this sweet, zany story of the purest magic at Christmas.

Review: Up to now, my only Claire Davis/Al Stewart reading experience was their delightful and adorable YA novel Shut Your Face, Anthony Pace. Why I haven’t gorged myself on every collaboration they have penned together can only be chalked up to a lack of time, because it certainly has nothing to do with a lack of interest or admiration for their storytelling skills. Their newest holiday offering, Nobody’s Butterfly, is a sweetly poignant novella that blends humor and a touch of magical realism with the story of two boys who find comfort, love and acceptance in each other at the Windybank children’s care home.

Of course, not playing on the butterfly motif and transformation would be a wasted opportunity when it’s right there in the book’s title, and the authors explore this theme in a few ways—as Johnny begins a cautious and albeit reluctant emergence from his self-imposed silence with Finn, a boy he spies from the bedroom window upon Finn’s arrival at Windybank in a wheelchair, appearing frail and near to broken. And in Greg, one of the counselors at the home, who needs one very special moment to remind him that what he does is more than just a job. But the words ‘nobody’s butterfly’ also take on a more personal and poignant meaning in the story in Finn’s father, who, without giving away too much, is the reason young Finn is now a ward of the home and has taken to hoarding food at every opportunity.

These two boys spoke to me in a core-deep, nurturing way, and I loved them both so much, only wanting to see them become whole and happy both as individuals and together. Finn’s sweet nature and fantastical imagination, which is, perhaps, a coping mechanism, was like a magic tonic to Johnny’s isolation and refusal to speak with the other kids at Windybank. Johnny’s reluctance to engage—because everyone leaves, eventually, and there’s not enough care to go around—caused him to become an outcast, with only the ghost in the cobweb outside his window to talk to, so Finn’s friendship and love and his staunch and stalwart defense was everything Johnny needed to begin to reach out and accept help and friendship, and, without a doubt, Finn’s love too.

Nobody’s Butterfly is a book I’m so glad I added to my Christmas reading queue. Its innocence is endearing, its characters are sweet and charming, its holiday magic is the perfect antidote to life’s day-to-day stresses, and I enjoyed escaping into Johnny and Finn’s world for a while to watch them fall in love.

You can buy Nobody’s Butterfly here:
[zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2vOXu5c” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Beaten Track [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://authl.it/B077QG4PSC?d” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2B9OZYw” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Barnes & Noble [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://apple.co/2B9OXjm” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] iBooks [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2B9OVbe” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Kobo [/zilla_button]