The Butterfly's Sting
CCBC Review:
Bo Clark has spent a year carefully developing The Plan for her 18th birthday. It centers on moving out of town and, most importantly, bringing her younger siblings Kate and Zach with her, delivering them all from the home of their volatile and abusive Uncle Jack. The Plan’s success hinges on Bo winning a boxing tournament and its significant cash prize. Bo’s mom deserted the family years earlier, and her uncle Jack was appointed guardian after her father’s death. A brief stint in separate foster homes traumatized all three of the siblings, but especially Zach, the youngest. Bo is determined to protect her brother and sister and willing to suffer her uncle’s physical abuse, if that’s what it takes. Bo seems to have inherited Jack’s boxing prowess, something he is determined to exploit. In truth, Bo enjoys fighting. She trains hard and keeps the illegal fight club, where her opponents are all men, a secret. Against expectations, Bo wins successive rounds in the tournament, in part because her new cutman, classmate Liam, is good at his job and has feelings for Bo. Despite all her strategizing, The Plan fractures at a critical moment, and the scene that follows is brutally violent. Although the outcome doesn’t completely align with Bo’s long-held hopes, it offers the siblings a future free from their uncle’s control. A propulsive plot punctuated by vivid fight scenes frames this moving account of a family in crisis. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range:
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Child Abuse
Domestic Violence
Foster Families
Siblings
Violence
Publishers:
Groundwood, House of Anansi
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 244
ISBN: 9781779460011
CCBC Location: Fiction, Harlow