The Butterfly Shell Review

Title: The Butterfly Shell

Author: Maureen White

Release date: 3^rd August 2015

Publisher: The O’Brien Press

THERE ARE SOME THINGS ABOUT ME YOU SHOULD KNOW.

1.       I always wear my butterfly shell

-          even when I’m swimming or sleeping

2.       I don’t hurt myself any more

3.       I believe in ghosts.

I’d better start at the beginning.

The beginning of First Year.  Here goes –

THE STORY OF A STRANGE YEAR AND A VERY SPECIAL SHELL.

Marie seems like an average teenage girl, she isn’t one of the popular kids and is dreading having to start a new school. It doesn’t help that she is haunted by a past that her family are unwilling to confront... a past that Marie can’t escape.

This is a strange little novel which I finished in one sitting (it is amazing the reading you can catch up on when you are awake at 2.30am with a little person pressing on your bladder!). The short blurb on the back of the book suggests a range of themes without much detail which made the novel a bit of a surprise (I much prefer it that way than a blurb that reveals all).  While the novel should technically be described as a ghost story (it contains all the required elements), it was unusual in that the ghost isn’t the main plot point. The Butterfly Shell actually offers so much more, approaching the difficulties of teenage life in a brutally honest way. Being defined as the ‘other’/ another Marie, both at home and at school demonstrates Marie’s difficulty at finding her way in the world and how other’s perceptions about us shape our lives. Marie’s narrative of the events that happen in that year are unapologetically tragic and direct but without being off putting.

Marie’s family are keeping things hidden that they don’t discuss, even amongst themselves. But this past haunts Marie and for me, the book was about how liberating honesty can be. Although Marie never reveals to her family the extent of what she kept from them, there are discussions with her mum that offer warmth and comfort. Her family have suffered a terrible loss and it is only through being open and honest with one another that they can begin to move on.

The book has a lovely ending that ties up the narrative and offers reassurance to the reader after such a tough subject matter. The novel does tackle thought provoking issues such as Marie’s self harm. Although this couldn’t be dealt with in too much depth due to the length of the novel, it isn’t forced upon the reader but is just shown as another piece of Marie’s life, just as the supernatural element is.

Although the supernatural element is never fully developed or explained, I enjoyed that and felt that it added to Marie’s naivety as a character; if she doesn’t fully understand what happened, why should the reader get an explanation?  I think that some people might dislike the book because of its lack of explanations or in depth details. However, I didn’t get the impression that the author was trying to cover too many grand topics, more that she was writing Marie’s story through Marie’s eyes. I really embraced that sense of this is what is happening to this character, rather than the reader being encouraged to think in a certain way about what was happening and I think that is a brilliant sign of fantastic characterisation. I also loved the simplicity of the title and the gorgeous cover design.  

4.5/5 Would definitely recommend, a really refreshing read.

With many thanks to O’Brien Press for sending me a copy of the book.