Beasts and Butterflies

3.5 rounded to a 4

This one was hard for me rate as the story itself is heartbreaking and hurt to read. I could not believe that parents, even adoptive ones, would be so harsh and treat their daughter so poorly. She was 13 and had an extremely traumatic experience, ends up pregnant as a result, and is then tossed out as garbage. All without the parents even considering how she must feel or even attempting to find out what happened. They just assumed the worst. Seriously!!! I wanted to smack her mom and dad.

I do admire Rachel as she attempts to rebuild her life and raise her son. She never gives up and moves forward with love and hope in her heart despite everything that happened to her.

What didn't work for me, hence the 3.5 stars, was the rushed writing and somewhat choppy chapters. I felt like some parts of Rachel's life could have been expounded on more while other parts could have been shortened to make a more well-rounded read. We know little to nothing about Tom and Jess. They have such a huge tie-in with Rachel's story but they are essentially left out in the cold.

Overall though, this was an interesting read and one I would recommend.