The Knife and the Butterfly

Jul 25, 2012 Kristen Unger rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classroom-library

For me, this is a book I could have easily abandoned early on. But boy am I glad that I stuck it through to the end. It has the kind of finish that clicks all the missing puzzle pieces into place, and while Perez does not shy away from realistically portraying the gritty world her characters embody, she still manages to tell a redemptive story.

My kids will love the very things early on that turned me off, and I will rest easy knowing that this is a story that is worth reading. I remain a big fan...more

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May 13, 2013 Kimberlyy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is written for the type of people who like gang related and mystery stories. Specifically teenagers. At first I was confused about what the chapters mean by "now" and "then" but after reading the third chapter I understood. The author had a lot of detail in Azz's graffing sketches showing instead of telling. It really gave me a picture in my head whenever I read about his drawings. Not only did she write about life in juvy but also about realistic gang life not that wannabe life in som...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Pamela Kramer rated it 5 of 5 stars

"The Knife and the Butterfly" by Ashley Hope Pérez is a story about a young man, Azael, whose life has been anything but easy.

Since his mother died after giving birth and his father began drinking heavily, Azael and his brother, Eddie, have struggled to raise their baby sister. When their father begins to exhibit violent tendencies toward that little girl, they know that she'd be safer with their grandmother in California -- far from their Texas slum.

Although they miss Regina, they know she's ha...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Mary Louise Sanchez rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: hispanic-authors

In sixteen-year-old Azael's life the cuts are deep. Deportation to El Salvador was always a possiblity and then his mother died and left him, his brother Eddie, and little sister basically homeless because their dad went into a deep depression. The little sister Regina gets sent to live in California and Eddie and Azael have a new familia in Houston, Texas. It's a gang called MS-13 and it would be hard to break away from them because the gang tatoos are cut deep in Azael's skin. Azael does break...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review will also be available at Mostly ReadingYA.

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This is not a book I would have picked up to read on my own. It’s nothing personal: it just doesn’t fall into my preferred genres (paranormal/sci fi/fantasy). But, when I received this ARC, I found myself interested for a short list of reasons. First, the title is a juxtaposition that is kind of lovely in my brain. THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY. Danger and delicacy. Violence and peace. It evoked curiosity, to be sure. Second, the descriptio...more This review will also be available at Mostly ReadingYA.

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This is not a book I would have picked up to read on my own. It’s nothing personal: it just doesn’t fall into my preferred genres (paranormal/sci fi/fantasy). But, when I received this ARC, I found myself interested for a short list of reasons. First, the title is a juxtaposition that is kind of lovely in my brain. THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY. Danger and delicacy. Violence and peace. It evoked curiosity, to be sure. Second, the description on the back of the ARC – “the knife cut, but somehow it also connected” – made me want to know what happened to make that so. And third, though it took reading the introduction the book to learn this, the protagonist lives in a poor area of Houston, Texas. Being from Texas myself, I wondered how well Ms. Perez would handle that, both in dialect and setting.

The story is primarily narrated from the point of view of Azael, a poor kid in Houston who is a member of MS-13, one of the largest, most dangerous gangs present in the United States and other Latin countries. He’s young – still in high school – and spends his time tagging the walls of his city, getting high, fighting rival gangs, and trying to look out for himself and his brother, orphans because of an unfortunate mix of immigration laws and the death of their mother.

He’s an interesting kid, to be sure. Simmering just beneath his slang and profanity lies what is very clearly an intelligent mind. (For the record, Perez does a killer job with the dialect – having spent a large amount of time in Houston as a child, I could actually “hear” Israel’s voice in my mind.) He’s methodical, logical in an extreme, save for the loyalty he shows his gang, which brings him trouble at every turn. The fight mentioned in the synopsis occurs just before Chapter 1 begins.

THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY opens with Azael locked in a sort of solitary confinement. He learns that his “job” is to watch a girl – a girl he has never met in his life – as she goes about her business in her cell, which is more of a bedroom than anything, much more comfortable than the place in which Az is confined. When he attempts to get information out of the two gentlemen he sees somewhat regularly regarding why he’s being held – one that brings food and the other who is a caseworker, or so it seems – all he can gather is that something went down, he’s in trouble for some reason that is wrapped up in Lexi, and that he can’t leave until he remembers.

The only problem is that Az can’t remember anything.

The novel chronicles his attempt to draw the story out – how is his story tied to Lexi’s? What did he do? Did he do anything? Why didn’t he clean up his life when he had the chance? Why is he being held here for so long, without reason?

To be honest, there are several variables held within the plot of THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY that I absolutely did NOT see coming, including Perez’s twist at the end, which I found to be extremely smart and engaging. But I won’t spoil it, because I found it so satisfying that I believe you, as a reader, deserve the same elements of surprise that I was able to experience. This book is harsh, gritty, and quietly dark. But it’s real.

THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY will be published in February 2012. Don’t miss it!

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Feb 08, 2012 TheBookSmugglers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Warning: this review contains very minor spoilers.

15-year-old Azael wakes up to find himself locked up after a fight against a rival gang. He assumes he is in Juvie again but the conditions of his incarceration are somewhat different this time around. He doesn’t get the phone call he is entitled to, there is no lawyer talking to him, no one will tell him what’s happening and he spends his days observing this white girl called Lexi, in another cell. He knows she is connected to what happened to h...more Warning: this review contains very minor spoilers.

15-year-old Azael wakes up to find himself locked up after a fight against a rival gang. He assumes he is in Juvie again but the conditions of his incarceration are somewhat different this time around. He doesn’t get the phone call he is entitled to, there is no lawyer talking to him, no one will tell him what’s happening and he spends his days observing this white girl called Lexi, in another cell. He knows she is connected to what happened to him but he can’t really remember the details of the night he was arrested – and it is imperative that he does so, before Lexi goes to trial and before time runs out.

The story progresses as Azael tries to not only remember what happened that night but also to understand what brought him there and how Lexi is related to all of it. The narrative reflects this progression by alternating between “now” and “then” from Azael’s point of view. The conditions of Azael’s incarceration are very unsettling from the start – to him and to the reader. It is obvious that something is afoot and I guessed that the story would involve a certain degree of supernatural elements which places the story firmly within the realm of Magic Realism. Although this piece of information might be slightly spoilery, I do think it is important to share it with potential readers who might approach this expecting a straightforward realistic Contemporary YA. I am not usually a fan of Magic Realism but it worked here because the focus is much more on the “realism” rather than on the “magical” aspect of the story.

Plot-wise The Knife and the Butterfly is loosely inspired by a real event that took place in a Houston park and which involved members of the MS-13 gang. This is merely the point of departure though as the story here is Ashley Hope Perez’s own and simply put, the heart of it is the characters and their circumstances.

The book depicts gang-life with complexity focusing on the low-level members that make up its ranks. As such, Azael’s life as a member of the MS-13 is one of crime and violence but also of close bonds of friendship, loyalty and survival. It is not about glorifying it at all but it does provide a thoughtful insight about the circumstances that might make a young kid join a gang. It is about the combination of missed opportunities, bad luck and poor choices. The book explores this dichotomy of circumstance versus choice really, really well – this is in fact the theme of the book: the knife as an easy choice but the hope for change (like a butterfly) is always present.

And that’s the core of Azael’s beautifully portrayed journey. The early death of his mother, his father’s extradition back to El Salvador leaving Azael , his brother Eddie and their sister Regina to fend for themselves as they slip through the cracks of the social system. His decision to leave school, his artistic tendencies, his love for his girlfriend Becca (and his promise to her to leave gang-life) and his family are all part of his heart-wrenching story. His voice sounded very genuine to me and although I flinched at certain parts of his narrative – especially when referring to girls, for example – these were addressed by the narrative in a way that satisfied me not only in a meta-textual way (by making it plain that circumstance can, unfortunately dictate world-view) but also in-text by allowing the reader to connect with a different side of Azael as other sides of him are slowly unveiled. On the other side of the story, there is also Lexi and it is not until later in the book that we get to hear from her. Her story is equally powerful: her problematic relationship with her parents, her love and respect for her grandmother, the fucked-up choices she makes with regards to sex and drugs all provide a frank look at her own troubled life. Where and how their paths cross is the end-game of the story and best left to be discovered by each reader.

Ultimately, The Knife and the Butterfly is a raw, violent, unrestrained story of two kids in trouble. Borrowing its own metaphor, this book is both knife and butterfly: it cuts deep and it’s uncompromisingly graphic but also compassionate and hopeful. (less)

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Mar 01, 2012 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-bitten, squeemers

I took a huge risk on THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY and gave it the benefit of the doubt. This whole gang, thug life thing, totally not my bag in the slightest. And characters like this? I pretty much don't give two shits about. But I am SOOOOO glad I took the chance because it ended being worth it and then some just for the ending. Like to the point of me being winded and speechless and not even moving worth it.

Azael is a thug. He's entrenched in gang life and quite frankly, until he really start...more I took a huge risk on THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY and gave it the benefit of the doubt. This whole gang, thug life thing, totally not my bag in the slightest. And characters like this? I pretty much don't give two shits about. But I am SOOOOO glad I took the chance because it ended being worth it and then some just for the ending. Like to the point of me being winded and speechless and not even moving worth it.

Azael is a thug. He's entrenched in gang life and quite frankly, until he really started breaking down in his prison cell and we start delving into his past I didn't feel much for him. He's a punk, someone that's starts ridiculous fights over some imagined blast to his or his friends' pride. At first I was really worried this would be a first for me: the first Carolrhoda Lab book I really didn't like. But once Perez started chipping away at the surface and really started getting into who Azael really was under that whole thug facade it became interesting. His life with MS-13 ended up being akin to addiction. Throughout the book he kept coming back to his girlfriend Becca and how he wanted to get clean for her, actually using those words. But it was always tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. I ended up feeling bad for him because he is so young (15) and once his mom died his childhood pretty much sucked thanks to a selfish father that couldn't get over it enough to take care of his kids.

And then you have Lexi. I found the blurb just a touch misleading because I thought it was going to alternate POVs between Azael and Lexi but it sticks with Azael the whole time although we learn everything about Lexi through him and her journal. We don't really NEED to be in her head because we already kind of are when Azael is doing his observation.

What really bothered me was how quick Azael was to discount Lexi's problems because she's white. That really got under my skin and I wanted to slap him for it. Just because she's fair doesn't mean her life doesn't suck, and it certainly sucked. She was basically pseudo-raised by a mom in denial that had a revolving door of boyfriends, some of which abused her. She acted the only way she really knew how, through sexuality, and the gang life she sought provided her a bit of protection that she couldn't get at home with her mom. They were family where she didn't have any, except for her grandmother, who really tried. That's who Lexi warmed up to the most, that's where she looked to for encouragement or whether she should feel disappointed. Her mom didn't matter but her grandmother did.

The ending was so insanely sudden for me and hit me so profoundly that I actually gasped, my hands started shaking and I didn't know what to do with myself. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not even halfway decent at picking up on twists in plots early in the story so I didn't see it coming AT ALL. And you know what? I'm glad. Because it took me aback so much that I think if I'd guessed before had, it would have ruined the story for me. It would have kept the story an okay story instead of launching it into FUCKING PHENOMENAL territory as it wrapped a rubber band around the whole thing and brought it all together. The ending really did it for me. If it had not ended the way it did I wouldn't have liked the book nearly as much. In fact I can't really imagine it ending any other way because it wouldn't have had nearly the same impact. Flabbergasted. Seriously.

THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY is not for the faint of heart. It's told through the eyes of a male MS-13 member (for those that don't know, it's a brutal gang based out of Los Angeles) and Perez is not shy about language, sexual innuendo or violence. It's all there, raw and uncensored for you to read and absorb. But she's written it so well that you'd think an actual member wrote it, that the story was coming from someone really living it. And in a way it did as it was inspired by actual events. Perez made me feel for someone that I would rightly brush aside, whose story I wouldn't have even considered before and I thank her deeply for that. Now I'm pretty much screwed because Azael's story was so phenomenal that I don't even know if anything else will compare. I don't know if I want it too.(less)

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Feb 03, 2013 Elly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reminiscing on the days of gang life
Life can be very hard and this book demonstrates how life has it ups and downs. I like this book because how emotional it is. In this book the main character Azael tells you how he get separated from his little sister and she can't remember her brothers which makes him feel like he is not important in her life anymore. The author express the feelings of the characters and help you really picture what is going on. When I was reading I felt their pain. It teach...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Kathleen Houlihan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012_read

Thank you, Ashley Hope Perez, for writing books that need to be written. I can't wait to share this book with my kids in Juvie!

The Knife and the Butterfly is about a 15 year old kid named Martin "Azael" Arevalo, or Azz for short. He's a member of the MS-13, the Mara Salvatrucha gang, known for its pervasiveness and brutality. The story opens with Azz in a cell. This is nothing new for him, but this time, he can't remember exactly what happened to land him there.

The story takes place primarily i...more Thank you, Ashley Hope Perez, for writing books that need to be written. I can't wait to share this book with my kids in Juvie!

The Knife and the Butterfly is about a 15 year old kid named Martin "Azael" Arevalo, or Azz for short. He's a member of the MS-13, the Mara Salvatrucha gang, known for its pervasiveness and brutality. The story opens with Azz in a cell. This is nothing new for him, but this time, he can't remember exactly what happened to land him there.

The story takes place primarily in Azz's cell, where he racks his brains trying to figure out what happened to him -- he can't even get anyone to tell him what he's accused of, and suspects that they're trying to manipulate him into confessing... but for what crime?

We see parts of Azz's life on the outside through flashbacks, and when Azz is taken to observe a girl named Lexi, a second perspective of the story begins to unfold, told from her perspective in therapy sessions and diary entries. Azz believes that his observation of Lexi is supposed to result in some kind of confession...either from him or Lexi. But he doesn't recognize her, or know what information she might have about him.

The voice of Azz is pitch perfect... for anyone who has worked with gang members or troubled youth in the Texas area, Azz could be a dozen kids you know. His sense of loyalty to his friends, his denial that he needs any kind of adult support or intervention, and his playboy posturing and heartfelt love of his girlfriend all ring true. Some of the scenes described are intense, but Perez walks a fine line between including enough information to make the story believable, while not treading into TMI territory (she mostly succeeds, though there are a few lines where I thought she pushed it a little far). Substance abuse, especially huffing and taking "bars" or Xanax, is described in detail, as tagging and mural-painting are a key theme throughout the story.

Sex is mentioned -- both the kind found in a loving relationship, as well as throwaway one night stand, and drug-addled varieties -- but not described. Some of the words used, are not curse words, but are a bit vulgar and crude and may make some adults wince (blow job, tits, cum, etc) but they all make sense in the place they're being used, and the characters who are using them. Don't get me wrong, though... there's plenty of profanity!

If I compare this story to any others, it will give away the twist, so I'll refrain from doing that, but I will say that the book follows in the growing trend of magical realism, and that while the story is certainly one of redemption, the message isn't too heavy handed. One might even quibble that it's a little too obscure... at the end, I wasn't entirely sure what message I was being left with, though it was undoubtedly positive.

The characters are the one thing holding me back from a five-star review at this juncture. There was a lot of information whizzing around, and while I definitely saw some character growth and development in the story, I felt a queer lack of empathy for either character. This is unusual for me, since I work with this population, and experience empathy for them on a daily basis. With both characters, whenever I was getting even a little bit close to them, there would be something in the story that would push you away again. While both characters are flawed, I felt like I should have been closer to both kids at the end of the story, and was surprised at how detached I felt at the end. Near the end of the story, just when you think Azz may be developing some sympathy for Lexi - and when he says he is himself -- he calls her the "girl with big tits and blow job lips" in the same breath as he's saying something sympathetic about her, and it makes his whole sentiment ring false at a time when we should be rooting for him. The relationship with Azz's aunt and uncle also needed a bit more depth for me. Lexi's family was much better fleshed out, so it was easier to sympathize with her, but Azz remained standoffish, all the way to the end.

There were so many elements I was excited to see (finally!) in print in a book for teens, but at some points, it felt a little bit like an academic exercise to try and fit them all into the story... it was almost as if I were checking off things in my head when I came across them (abandoned child, check. hard core gangbanger, check. romance, check. struggling reader, check. misunderstood and lonely girl, check.) but I think Ms. Perez did a good job of weaving them all together into a cohesive whole.

The story is a very compelling one, and I truly believe it will find a welcome audience in teens who are struggling with gang violence in their lives. The mystery may reveal itself a little early on for adults, but that doesn't lessen the desire to have a solid answer to your questions as a reader. While the ending to Azz's story leaves some room for interpretation, the end of Lexi's story is fully spelled out, including an epilogue and an author's note that provides more back story.

I'm going to have to reserve final judgement on this one until I share it with my incarcerated teens -- I'm very interested in their response. On the one hand, I could see them absolutely loving it... it's very raw and real and the pacing is pretty quick. On the other hand, I could see them having a hard time swallowing the magic realism. Their tastes tend towards realistic fiction, but this one has so many realistic elements that they might overlook their preference for "realistic" stories... if they can be convinced to care about the characters, and the decisions they ultimately make. (less)

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May 31, 2012 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, psc-reviews, realistic-fiction, young-adult

Azael wakes up in lock-up after a gang fight. No one will tell him where he is or what has happened to his brother, who was also involved in the fight. As part of his rehabilitation he goes to an observation room where he watches a girl named Lexi. Azael has no recollection of this girl, but somehow she is strongly tied to his situation.
Steer to older, more mature students as this book contains violence, foul language, and sexual situations. It will have strong appeal to students looking for gri...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Lorrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, stand-alone

Wow, what an ending! After reading various reviews, I was wracking my brain trying to figure out the "twist". Thought I had it figured out, but I didn't. My mouth actually dropped wide open. I really enjoyed the entire book - it was well written, and I really connected to Martin. The "then" snippets of him and his bother and sister were touching. I really felt for him. Lexi, not so much. That's not to say that I didn't feel sorry for her because of her circumstances/background, but I just never...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Lisa Delaine Youngblood rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-for-tayshas-2011-12

This novel intersperses dreams, memories, and a "present day" account of a young gang member who wakes up in a strange jail cell without knowledge of the end of a gang fight. In order to regain his memories, he must watch a girl whom he thinks he does not know. While the story of inner-city gang violence is one that most certainly needs to be told, a straightforward well composed tale would have sufficed. Instead the author contrives a complicated situation to allow the events to slowly unfold....more

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Feb 24, 2012 Rabiah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-sophomore-challenge, blog-tour, egalley

Originally Posted at: http://iliveforreading.blogspot.com/2...

I loved Pérez's first novel, What Can't Wait but this one? SO INTENSE. Like, I couldn't stop flipping pages, frantically trying to find out what happened that one night. It was emotional, mysterious and all tied up with a mind-blowing conclusion.

Both characters were likeable, and I found that even though Azael was the main character telling the story through his point of view, Lexi's perspective was clearly mentioned through her writi...more Originally Posted at: http://iliveforreading.blogspot.com/2...

I loved Pérez's first novel, What Can't Wait but this one? SO INTENSE. Like, I couldn't stop flipping pages, frantically trying to find out what happened that one night. It was emotional, mysterious and all tied up with a mind-blowing conclusion.

Both characters were likeable, and I found that even though Azael was the main character telling the story through his point of view, Lexi's perspective was clearly mentioned through her writing. It was interesting to see how her story ties into his, even though he can't remember what happened that one night. The story included hand written notes and such, so it was a different blend :).

Azael was pretty great, although I was unsure if a 15 year old would do all the things he's done, but nonetheless, his personality is SPOT ON. Like, honestly from a girl's POV at least, it's pretty accurate. Lots (and I mean LOTS) of swearing coming from him.
Lexi is the more mysterious character and I enjoyed how we as readers find out things about that night and developments to the story the same time as Azael does. The emotions in this book are incredible and is quite the emotional roller coaster.

There's a switch in time/setting, with alternating "Then" and "Now" chapters, which looks at the present mystery and Azael's past. I found this extremely effective, and it really built up the suspense and tension in the story. Like I said– the ending is MIND BLOWING. I so did not see that coming.

Overall, The Knife and the Butterfly is a fast-paced and heart-thumping novel which looks at racial discrimination and street gangs in Houston. This was apparently based on a true crime, so it's interesting to see how that ties with fiction, especially the similarities in both cases. Ashley Hope Pérez has written an astounding second novel, and I SO can't wait for more.

**Thank you so much to Ashley Hope Pérez for making me apart of the blog tour and sending me the eGalley for review!**(less)

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Mar 11, 2012 Tara (Fiction Folio) rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Knife and the Butterfly is definitely a different book than what I normally read. I’ll be totally honest – my favorite genres are what I read 99% of the time, and I don’t exactly branch out into the different or less popular very often. When the opportunity arose to read The Knife and the Butterfly, I jumped on the chance to, you know, broaden my horizons and read something completely different for me.

Well, my leap of faith outside of Tara world paid off. I had to think on it for a full day...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Doret rated it 4 of 5 stars

16 yr old Azael lives in Houston and is a member of the MS-13 gang. The day after a fight with another gang, Azael wakes up in lock up and he can't remember how he got there. The chapters alternate between now and then. In the now Azael is in jail trying to remember the fight. He finds himself thinking about his girlfriend Becca and worry about his brother Eddie and the other MS 13 members. In the now Azael is also introduced to Lexi, a White girl he swears he doesn't know. Though Azael quickly...more

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Feb 09, 2012 E. Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are a lot of heart-wrenching books out there. But there's something special about THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY. The latest by Ashley Hope Perez, this novel is artfully written, with a voice that reads so authentic the story feels horrifically real. Horrifically because the narrator is a young boy in jail, awaiting sentencing, and knowing something terrible has gone down. Something that cost a life.

Azael isn't a bad kid. At least, he doesn't think he is. At 16 he's found himself kinda homele...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Katelyn (Tales of Books and Bands) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-book, own, read-in-2012, review-books, 5-stars

This book grabbed a hold of me from the very first page and if I am being completely honest, it still has a hold over me even days after reading it. I first fell in love with Ashley’s writing after reading What Can’t Wait. I learned that she has this impeccable ability to tie in beautiful, hopeful stories while also keeping it entertaining and realistic. The Knife and the Butterfly will anger you, make you happy, break your heart, and then put it together again. It is one emotional roller coaste...more This book grabbed a hold of me from the very first page and if I am being completely honest, it still has a hold over me even days after reading it. I first fell in love with Ashley’s writing after reading What Can’t Wait. I learned that she has this impeccable ability to tie in beautiful, hopeful stories while also keeping it entertaining and realistic. The Knife and the Butterfly will anger you, make you happy, break your heart, and then put it together again. It is one emotional roller coaster of a book that is 100% worth your time.

The story follows Azael, a 15-year-old boy who wakes up in a cell with no recollection of how he got there. To add to his utter confusion, this lock-up is not quite like the others he’s encountered. He doesn’t have a set schedule, he sometimes gets to talk to a few guards but they hardly ever release information, and he spends his days watching Lexi, a girl he knows absolutely nothing about. Lexi’s story is complicated and intertwined with Azael’s somehow and I spent the whole book trying to figure out just how. I love that we are learning the events of his incarceration right along with him. Every confusing moment, every new clue, every elusive comment is there to help us piece together Azael’s whole story.

The book is separated into “now” and “then” chapters and it is through this that we learn all about Azael’s tough childhood like the death of his mother and the deportation of his father. Azael and his brother Eddie spent their days hiding from Child Protective Services, scrounging for food, and trying to survive the gang life. Ashley paints a portrait of a very sad and depressing childhood but it is one that must be painted. She stays true to what I imagine the gang life to be like, very gritty and very dangerous, and it often times includes kids who seem to have no choice just like Azael and Eddie. The brother’s original reasons for joining the gang are unsure but I know the reasons they stayed in; they grew to like the trouble, the money, and the family aspect of it all. Sure the boys have friends that have their backs but they are also introduced to a life of crime that lands them in trouble time and time again including the situation Azael is now in.

Azael definitely has a tough exterior and he said a lot of things that made me squirm but that did not deter me from loving him. Here is this boy with a beautiful heart who got put in the worst of situations, a boy who really wanted to change his life around, and due to bad luck and even worse choices, he is put into this cell to try and figure out what is going on. How could your heart not go out to someone like that? The same goes for Lexi. At first I couldn’t stand the girl but the more we learn about her background, the more I understood the way she presented herself to people. She is a troubled girl thrown into a huge mess of a situation and she is scared to death of it. Both Azael’s and Lexi’s stories pulled at my heartstrings.

Ashley’s writing was beautiful throughout the whole book! Azael likes to throw around curse words and he talks in a manner that is not exactly flattering but that is where Ashley’s talent shines the most. She was able to be so extremely realistic, down to the smallest details like his word choice, yet she still provided such a beautiful story.

The Knife and the Butterfly takes you through a lot. There is grief, sadness, but there is also a sense of hope to the whole thing. I have said it before, and after reading this book I will say it time and time again, but I will forever be a fan of Ashley’s writing!(less)

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Feb 02, 2012 Joli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

The Knife and the Butterfly is one of those stories that leaves you in awe long after finishing it. Like Azael, I'm left not quite sure how it all happened but, also, with that deep sense that I knew all along. Before reading the book, I didn't know too much of the background of the story which was inspired by true events, and I am glad for that. I think that it would have affected how I read it and how I absorbed what Azael was experiencing.

Azael comes off as a hard person, not just because he...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Aisha Patel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, mystery, contemporary, realistic-fiction

Once again i was lured into a book by its sick cover and title,and even though it started off as just okay i ended up liking this one.
There was alot of terms and phrases especially the Spanish bits that were hard to follow but it was still well written.
The more i read the more i started to understand the characters as more than drug addicted thugs.
The ending totally threw me off and i was kind of confused but it built up to it so well. All in all it was a great read though it made me a little sa...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012

2.5.

Not my kind of book at all, but once I got into it, I liked it more than I thought I would. The end was a twist I didn't see coming (maybe I would have, though, had I been invested earlier on).

That said, I have to give Perez so much credit for writing these kinds of stories -- about the hardened kids, the city kids, the kids who are dealing not only with life at home but all of the baggage that comes with being Latino -- because these are stories we need more of. There is a huge readership...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Jessica Sinn (Chick Lit Cafe) rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is not your typical young adult thriller! Ashley was kind enough to chat with Chick Lit Cafe about how she learned the inner workings of street gangs, the connection between teens and the paranormal, and how she surprised herself with a twist ending!

http://loonachicklit.wordpress.com/20...

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Jul 12, 2012 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Even if we can't change what's already happened, we all have the power within ourselves to change, at the very least, how we think and act in the future, and how we think and feel about ourselves in the present. As Azael does what he can to take control of his situation, as Lexi does her best to work through what's happened, both find an inner core of strength, and this helps them grasp at a sense of meaning in what often feels like a chaotic and rocky existence.

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Sep 21, 2012 Yasmin Dillon rated it 4 of 5 stars

It caught me from the get-go. The genre of the book is exactly my style and i couldn't put it down. I read it in two days. I could have finished it in one night but i had homework to do. :P The ending really pieces everything together and gives you that "Ohhhh!" moment. I just wished it was longer.

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Aug 28, 2012 Holly Schindler added it

I know from personal experience that writing a male voice can be a challenge for a female author, and I found Azael’s voice absolutely authentic and believable…so much so, I even wished I was back in his head during the portions of the book that were driven by Lexi’s voice.

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Jan 30, 2013 Sai rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Woah. Totally unexpected. Just... wow.

This was the last one I read of a 4 book epic giveaway from Carolrhoda Lab, via Donna At Bites. Carolrhoda Lab's books, man... they're definitely something. Boundary-pushing, for sure.

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Jun 17, 2012 Jody rated it 4 of 5 stars

A well-written novel with tremendous voice about two teens on the fringes of society. Tough, tough subject matter, but the ending is so great that I wanted to turn back to the beginning and start again.

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Apr 26, 2013 Adrian added it

i think it was a good book.. a little confusion with the whole book being in prison but it was good. really confusion when he has flashbacks about what has happend , but it was an awesome book.

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Dec 30, 2011 P.J. rated it 5 of 5 stars

What can I say about THE KNIFE AND THE BUTTERFLY? Here are five quick things:

1) It is realistic fiction which is not my most common genre to read, yet...
2) ...once I picked it up, I could not put it down, because...
3) ...the characters are so raw and real, they assert themselves in your mind and don't leave, and...
4) ...even though it is raw, it offers hope for those who grow up in difficult situations, so...
5) ...you should totally read this though-provoking novel. It's deep and it's wonderful....more

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Jan 20, 2013 Book_dummy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hispanic-voices

While I saw where this was going pretty much immediately, I think this book will connect with the audience for whom it is intended and I think they will enjoy it.

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Jan 30, 2013 Nancy Vazquez rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was really good. The ending is unexpected cant believe Azael is dead.!

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