The Knife and the Butterfly
After a marijuana-addled brawl with a rival gang, 16-year-old Azael wakes up to find himself surrounded by a familiar set of concrete walls and a locked door. Juvie again, he thinks. But he can’t really remember what happened or how he got picked up. He knows his MS13 boys faced off with some punks from Crazy Crew. There were bats, bricks, chains. A knife. But he can’t remember anything between that moment and when he woke behind bars.
Azael knows prison, and something isn’t right about this lockup. No phone call. No lawyer. No news about his brother or his homies. The only thing they make him do is watch some white girl in some cell. Watch her and try to remember.
Lexi Allen would love to forget the brawl, would love for it to disappear back into the Xanax fog it came from. And her mother and her lawyer hope she chooses not to remember too much about the brawl—at least when it’s time to testify.
Lexi knows there’s more at stake in her trial than her life alone, though. She’s connected to him, and he needs the truth. The knife cut, but somehow it also connected.
| Format | Your Price | Add |
|---|---|---|
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978-1-4677-1624-6
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$9.95 | |
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978-1-4677-6818-4
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$23.99 |
Awards
- Notable AwardNotable Award YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
- SSLI Book Award Honor Book
- Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award Reading List
- Tayshas Reading List
- Notable AwardNotable Award School Library Journal Top Books for Youth in Detention
Reviews
The ALAN Review
“Perez gives the reader sympathetic yet critical insight into the world of gangs in Houston, Texas, and is careful to show the narratives of loss that drive so many young people to join them.” —The ALAN Review
Library Media Connection
“This is a well-written, compelling story of the lost lives of young gang members.” —Library Media Connection
VOYA
“Based on a true incident, this work of fiction is gritty, sad, and not for the faint-hearted.” —VOYA
Booklist
“An uncompromising look at two characters most readers would otherwise look away from.” —Booklist
School Library Journal
“Azael is a dynamic and sympathetic main character with an authentic voice…. This hard-hitting novel [will be an] an assured success in libraries serving high school students.” —School Library Journal
Kirkus Reviews
“An unflinching portrait with an ending that begs for another reading.” —Kirkus Reviews
Jordan Sonnenblick
“Like Ashley Hope Pérez, I have been a teacher in inner-city Houston and a writer of young adult fiction. I am in a perfect position to watch in awe as she completely nails our students’ experiences in her harrowing, heart-rending, and ultimately hopeful The Knife and the Butterfly. This is the book I wish I’d had the guts to write!” —Jordan Sonnenblick, author of After Ever After and Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie