Becoming A Butterfly
by Mia Castile
ebook
Expected publication: May 22nd 2012 by Entwined Publishing
Premise:
16 year old Lacey was never the center of attention, unless she was tripping, stammering, or being deposited into a pool by the local popular kids. All she wanted was to fit in, until one night when everything changed.
Jade and Tasha, her two best friends, helped her create an online personality that was everything she wanted to be - and it was only the beginning. In doing so she attracted the attention of Henry, her lifelong crush and next door neighbor. Unfortunately it was Farrah, her online personality and not herself, he was interested in.
She also attracted Chase the brooding, quiet, anti-social new kid of Brownsburg High School, who easily figured out her secret and blackmailed her. They forged a friendship that was both unique and complicated.
Lacey must decide if revealing herself to Henry and her entire school as the cool, charming, and funny Farrah is worth possibly losing him forever, and she finds herself needing to make an even harder decision than she ever thought possible. When did the lines between truth and lies get so blurred?
Becoming a Butterfly is a story about coming of age and finding yourself when you never knew you were lost.
My Review:
This book is a delight to read.
The main character, Lacey, is a bucket of complicated fun. I love how she's so smart and witty and she has this dry humor. Experiencing high school from her point of view is highly entertaining. Like, she's a wiz on computers, which is partly why she gets herself into so much trouble. But then she's painfully clumsy - not cute clumsy, there's a difference! She has a huge heart and I love how she's always ready to think of other people instead of herself. But then... she's got this forever-long crush that she can't see around. Lacey totally makes this book. She's a hoot.
There are so many other real people surrounding Lacey. Henry's pretty cool. We end up seeing more sides of his character than I imagined would be possible, which made me feel for the guy, but still... he is so lacking, too. I mean, how could he let his friend's sis holler mean things at Lacey every morning?! He's got a lot to prove to me after lame passivity like that!
Jade & Tasha are fun. More than accomplices and confidences, they have their own unique characters in the long-time threesome friendship. Lacey's sis, Lana, is a multi-faceted character, too, with her own set of challenges. All three make Lacey's life (and this book) more complicated, and yet more satisfying, too.
I save the best for last. Chase is TOTALLY AWESOME!!! He's brooding & quiet (per the premise) 'cause he transferred from another school... for personal reasons he doesn't care to share with the wide world of high school. He does brooding, quiet & anti-social really, really well. (REALLY well!!) He also does some other things well, artistic-type things. And I'm not just saying that 'cause his dad owns a mechanic shop and they can work on cars (which is a big hit with me!!) He's smart, too, and matches wits with Lacey, which is squirm-delightful. I seriously cannot get enough of Chase. It's almost a relief that this is the first book of a series, 'cause there must be more Chase!!!
Let's talk Love Triangles a moment. This is my favorite kind. The girl is obsessin' over one guy and clueless of another. Lacey does not see a triangle, which is why it works so darn well.
There's some poems, too... some beautiful poems that are perfect. There's a level of "cuteness" with contemporary references, like "That 70's Show" or "blond from a bottle". And on occasion Lacey feels wise beyond her years. I don't remember making references to stages I was going through when I was actually going through them: "I wondered when I would grow out of my awkward phase." Overall, though, Becoming a Butterfly is addicting. I can't wait for more Lacey!!
Meet The Author - Colorimetry welcomes Mia Castile!!
Thank you for agreeing to answer some questions!! And thank you for sending some beautiful bookmarks & postcards - all signed!! - for Colorimetry readers!
* How did you think of the idea for this book?
Originally I wanted it to be light, comical, about a girl who finds herself in difficult situations, however as the story developed, I realized there was more to the characters, and deeper emotions. This book deals with bully-ing, self esteem, depression, and self harm. The series additionally will deal with sexuality issues, family dynamics, and more secrets and lies. My hope is that readers will be able to relate to the characters and seek help if they find themselves a similar situation of which they've lost control.
I can totally see this, actually. There are layers of secrets that are uncomfortable, but make it hard to look away. I can't wait to see what Lacey's going to do!!
* What is your favorite part of the story?
My favorite part of this story would have to be the friendships over all, watching the characters bonds and develop, while also maintaining the relationships that are already there. The true test of any friendship is surviving the storms, and coming out stronger for it. Lacey finds herself in some uncomfortable situations through out this story, those were fun to come up with and I actually drew some of it from my own horrifying high school experiences. Yes, I had a teacher who couldn't contain his laughter at me when I embarrassed myself in front of my entire class.
* Can you share something personal about you? Something unique or weird? :-)
This is a really tough question for me for some strange reason. I could tell you about some of my singing talents, like Meatloaf's Anything for Love in Grover's voice, or Black Eyed Pea's Where is the Love opera style, but I wont. Instead I'm going to say I'm boring and normal. Nothing weird here.
Singing, hey? Anything on YouTube? :-D
Singing, hey? Anything on YouTube? :-D
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Giveaway fun!!!
Mia has signed bookmarks and postcards for winners!! One person will win an E-Copy of her new book + Swag!! And then I'll draw more winners for the remaining goodies!!!!
See my giveaway rules under About Me - you must be old enough to win. This giveaway is open internationally. Givers are not responsible for the condition of awesome swag upon arrival. Winners chosen randomly via Rafflecopter.
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