On the blog today I have a review for The Butterfly Effect by Rachel Mans McKenny for Suzy Approved Book Tours.

About The Book: 

Release Date: December 8, 2020 Alcove Press

A Man Called Ove meets The Rosie Project in this “delightfully off-kilter” (Rachel Yoder, Nightbitch) tale of a grumpy introvert, her astonishing lack of social skills and empirical data-driven approach to people and relationships.

Is there such a thing as an anti-social butterfly? If there were, Greta Oto would know about it–and totally relate. An entomologist, Greta far prefers the company of bugs to humans, and that’s okay, because people don’t seem to like her all that much anyway, with the exception of her twin brother, Danny, though they’ve recently had a falling out. So when she lands a research gig in the rainforest, she leaves it all behind.

But when Greta learns that Danny has suffered an aneurysm and is now hospitalized, she abandons her research and hurries home to the middle of nowhere America to be there for her brother. But there’s only so much she can do, and unfortunately just like insects, humans don’t stay cooped up in their hives either–they buzz about and… socialize. Coming home means confronting all that she left behind, including her lousy soon-to-be sister-in-law, her estranged mother, and her ex-boyfriend Brandon who has conveniently found a new non-lab-exclusive partner with shiny hair, perfect teeth, and can actually remember the names of the people she meets right away. Being that Brandon runs the only butterfly conservatory in town, and her dissertation is now in jeopardy, taking that job, being back home, it’s all creating chaos of Greta’s perfectly catalogued and compartmentalized world. But real life is messy, and Greta will have to ask herself if she has the courage to open up for the people she loves, and for those who want to love her.

The Butterfly Effect is an unconventional tale of self-discovery, navigating relationships, and how sometimes it takes stepping outside of our comfort zone to find what we need the most.

Miss W’s Review:

Usually I do not enjoy books with a VERY unlikable and I mean UN. LIKE. ABLE. protagonist, but this book is the one exception. I seemed to be cheering on Greta even though I could not stand how she acted and treated people.

Suffice it to say Greta Otto is not really a people person, she prefers bugs. I actually could relate to this because there are times that I prefer my cats to people, but I hope I am more likable and treat people better than Greta did. Great is smart and capable and I do think she cares for others, mostly her twin brother.

The writing is fantastic and the character development off the charts. I really enjoyed this book and I hope you do too!

About The Author:

Rachel Mans McKenny is a writer and humorist from the Midwest. She has been published in The New York Times, Electric Literature, McSweeney’s, and other outlets, and loves to waste time at twitter.com/rmmckenny. https://rachelmansmckenny.com/

Until the next Chapter,

Wilfrieda