The Boy with the Butterfly Mind

by Victoria Williamson

Overview

Jamie Lee just wants to be normal but his ADHD isn't making it easy. If only he could control his butterfly mind then he'd have friends, be able to keep out of trouble, live with his mum and not be sent to stay with his dad.

Elin Watts just wants to be perfect. If she could be the best student and daughter possible, then maybe her dad would leave his new family and come back to Glasgow to live with Elin and her mum, happily ever after.

When Jamie and Elin's families blend, the polar opposites of chaotic Jamie and ordered Elin collide. As their lives spiral out of control, Jamie and Elin discover that they're actually more alike than they'd admit. Maybe there's no such thing as normal, or perfect. And perhaps, just like families, happy-ever-afters come in all shapes and sizes.

Uplifting and moving, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind is an inspiring story of acceptance, blended families, and discovering that in the end, being yourself is more than enough.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782506201
Publisher:	Floris Books
Publication date:	09/12/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	913 KB
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Victoria Williamson is a primary school teacher with a Master's degree in special needs education. Her first novel, the USBBY-honoured The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle is included in the 2019 Read for Empathy collection and has been longlisted for the Branford Boase Award.

Editorial Reviews

09/30/2019

In this family drama, Williamson (The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle) alternates between two 12-year-old protagonists in Glasgow who share a desperate wish to mend their broken families. Elin wants to be perfect, hoping that her father will realize how much he misses her and move back in. Underneath her smooth facade, though, she seethes with anger toward most everyone in her life: her mother’s boyfriend, Paul; her new stepsister; and Jamie, Paul’s “monster” son. Jamie just wants people, and especially Elin, to like him, but he has ADHD and sometimes acts in erratic and occasionally explosive ways. Elin and Jamie’s increasingly destructive behavior ramps up the story’s tension and suspense, while their misguided beliefs that they can “fix” their parents’ relationships will likely resonate with some readers. Unfortunately, Elin’s spite grows tiresome, and her moment of reckoning and sudden enlightenment, while welcome, lead to an implausible happily-ever-after ending. Without a strong focus on endearingly earnest Jamie and his “butterfly mind,” Williamson’s relevant themes of forgiveness, empathy, and acceptance have a lesser impact. Ages 11–13. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

'Achingly realistic, yet hopeful.' —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

'Williamson's character-driven novel presents an honest, introspective portrayal of the adolescent psyche amidst multiple family upheavals, and it is both heartbreaking and hopeful.' —Booklist

'A must-buy for all elementary libraries.' —Youth Services Book Review

'My heart broke and soared by turns in this inspiring story of two kids who seem to have nothing in common but a desperate desire for their family to be whole.' —Shari Green, author of ALA Schneider Award-winner Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess

'A masterclass in empathy.'—Lisa Thomson, author of Ostrich Boy

From the Publisher

11/01/2019

Gr 4–6—Elin and Jamie, the two narrators in this absorbing novel, couldn't be more different. Elin strives to be perfect under the mistaken belief that it will prompt her father to return to the family. Her obsessive behavior does nothing to endear her to her peers, and she's quite lonely. Jamie is convinced his ADHD caused not only his parents' marriage ending, but also the tension between his mom and her new boyfriend. He's looking forward to moving to America with them and making a new start. Unfortunately, Jamie learns that his mother and her boyfriend need a new start in America without him. He's sent to live with his father, his live-in girlfriend, and her daughter—Elin. Jamie's loud, messy, distracted ways cause issues with Elin and her mother. Elin sees the tension Jamie's presence is causing between her mom and Jamie's dad so she hatches a horrifying plan to rid both of them from her life. Jamie is the more sympathetic of the narrators. He's also achingly, naively honest, though the severity of his ADHD makes his company trying. Elin is less sympathetic as her obsession causes her to lie and manipulate. Middle school dynamics are realistically portrayed as are most family dynamics. VERDICT A fine addition that may prompt discussion and help build empathy among thoughtful readers.—Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

School Library Journal

★ 2019-08-18
Two British preteens grapple with their parents' divorces—and sharing a home.

In Scotland, 11-year-old Elin lives with her divorced mother and her mother's boyfriend, Paul. She believes that if she can be her father's "Perfect Princess," he'll be persuaded to return. In England, Jamie, also 11, lives with his divorced mother and her boyfriend, Chris, whom he does not get along with. Due to ADHD, he's impulsive, forgetful, and never perfect. Instead of relocating to the U.S. with his mom and Chris and at his mother's urging, Jamie moves in with his dad. After establishing each protagonist's background through alternating first-person chapters, Williamson reveals that Jamie's father is Paul. As Elin and Jamie adjust to living and going to school together, their initial spats turn to all-out war. The harder Elin schemes to break up the family, the harder Jamie tries to keep the peace, driving the plot. Parental arguments, financial strain, and other dynamics add to the tension, and a butterfly motif unites the story. When the kids finally realize the pain they share, they join forces to become a blended family in an encouraging ending. Although Elin and Jamie are vastly different, the author deftly shows the trauma of divorce on children. Most characters are assumed white; Paul is ethnically Chinese, and Jamie is implied biracial (Chinese/white).

An achingly realistic, yet hopeful, depiction of divorce. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews