Review: Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai

Butterfly Yellow

by Thanhha Lai

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 304

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In the final days of the Việt Nam War, Hằng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms—and Hằng is left behind in the war-torn country.

Six years later, Hằng has made the brutal journey from Việt Nam and is now in Texas as a refugee. She doesn’t know how she will find the little brother who was taken from her until she meets LeeRoy, a city boy with big rodeo dreams, who decides to help her.

Hằng is overjoyed when she reunites with Linh. But when she realizes he doesn’t remember her, their family, or Việt Nam, her heart is crushed. Though the distance between them feels greater than ever, Hằng has come so far that she will do anything to bridge the gap.

Kritters Thoughts:  I love to read out of my usual genres every so often to stretch my reading muscles and this one was out of my usual and I enjoyed it.  

Hang can't forget that day 6 years ago when her brother and herself were bound a journey and instead they were separated and she has spent 6 years trying to figure out how to get him back.  Finally she is on a journey herself and hopes to reconnect with him and restart the relationship that they had, but her hopes may be misplaced and she may have to find a new normal.  

For me the book was great, but there was one thing that kept the book from reading smoothly for me.  There were bits of the book where Hang spoke in half Vietnamese and half English and although LeeRoy was able to translate it, I didn't feel as though it was all translated and would have loved the English to be in a different font, so I knew what she was saying, I didn't always catch it.  I wouldn't take it out by any means, it gave some authenticity to the book, but I needed some translation help!  

I am glad I read this one, it was great to read a book out of my usual element and I challenge you to pick this one up and read a great immigrant story.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Wunderkind PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.