This book broke me.

 

It ripped my heart out and forced me to watch.

 

Maybe some day I'll have coherent thoughts to write up a real review, but not right now. For now I'm just going to mope around and have hardcore book hangover.

 

Willreviewonceheartgrowsback.

 

Recommend.

Biggest Flirts - JenniferEchols 

From What I Remember... - Stacy Kramer,Valerie Thomas  

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz  

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass - Meg Medina  

Joyride - Anna Banks  

Out of Darkness (Fiction - Young Adult) - Ashley Hope Pérez  

The Weight of Feathers: A Novel - Anna-Marie McLemore  

Forever for a Year - B.T. Gottfred  

Dream Things True - Marie Marquardt  

Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles

Chain Reaction - Simone Elkeles 

When Reason Breaks - Cindy L. Rodriguez  

More Happy Than Not - Adam Silvera  

Kiss Kill Vanish - Jessica Martinez

Rules of Attraction - Simone Elkeles  

He Forgot to Say Goodbye - Benjamin Alire Sáenz  

On the Edge - Allison van Diepen  

Before We Were Free - Julia Alvarez  

dancergirl - Carol M. Tanzman   

When the Stars Go Blue - Caridad Ferrer 

Snitch - Allison van Diepen   

goddamn this book is good @AshleyHopePerez

"The Knife and the Butterfly" by Ashley Hope Pérez is a story about a young man, Azael, whose life has been anything but easy.

Since his mother died after giving birth and his father began drinking heavily, Azael and his brother, Eddie, have struggled to raise their baby sister. When their father begins to exhibit violent tendencies toward that little girl, they know that she'd be safer with their grandmother in California -- far from their Texas slum.

Although they miss Regina, they know she's happy and growing up in a healthy environment -- far from the gangs, violence and drugs in their lives. And, as desperate as their lives get, they love knowing that Regina is having birthday parties with loving relatives far away.

The story is told in first person narrative with alternating chapters labeled "then" and "now." "Then" is the horrid tale of growing up in squalor. The true sadness, though, is that the squalor didn't matter when Azael's mother was alive to shower her children with love. The "now" is Azael's life in the strange place where everything is just a little "off."

Continue reading on Examiner.com Review of "The Knife and the Butterfly" by Ashley Hope Pérez - Chicago Young Adult Fiction | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/young-adult-fiction-in-chicago/the-knife-and-the-butterfly-by-ashley-hope-p-rez-review#ixzz1ofDgs6cK


Read the whole review at: http://www.examiner.com/young-adult-fiction-in-chicago/the-knife-and-the-butterfly-by-ashley-hope-p-rez-review

Have you ever read a book which you completely understand and relate to, even if it's set into another time, dimension, world? Well, this is that kind of book - the kind where the characters are so real that even if you cannot relate to their situation, you understand and love.Marisa is in her senior year in high school, and finds herself on a crossroad - her parents don't see the point in higher education and pressure her into working more to help the family, while her friends and teachers try to push her into pursuing her dreams of becoming an engineer. There are no dragons and vampires and epic adventures in this book - only a simple story of a girl finding her place, which rings more true than anything else I've read recently.The thing I loved best about this novel is how it writes about ethinicity and class without being only about ethinicity and class. Let me explain: While Marisa's life is generally influenced by who she is and where she comes from, her troubles are not all that different from our own. Because here's the thing: I cannot even begin to imagine how life is for Marisa. I've never been in her shoes. If I'm white and middle class, it would make sense if I related to girls like Laurel Sewell or Bella Swan?Perhaps it would, but I do not. Because all the Laurels and Bellas seem to think about is which guy should they choose. And while a guy was my number one priority once, that's not the case anymore, and the truth is, it's not a very relatable problem. But fear? Insecurities? Finding your identity? Those are problems that I face every day, and like Marisa, I struggle to overcome them. Sometimes I fail, and sometimes I do not - either way, each battle matters, and this is why this book was so wonderful.