Book Review: Dewdrops & Butterflies by Libby May

I'm back with another blog tour! (Check in at Libby May's Blog to find more fun tour stuff!) You can visit We've Got Pockets tomorrow for the next stop in the blog tour.

About the book:
“I smiled and acted like I was supposed to be there. It was amazing how much people assumed by a simple glance. An outfit, an expression, a tone of voice. Anyone could pretend to be anything. Today, I was a rich girl.”

Thirteen-year-old Rose Wells is determined to make it on her own. Running from authority one last time, the forest has become her home and the cafe her source of food. Fear driven determination will keep her here as long as she can help it. 

But not everybody is okay with that. Alex and Jenni Johnson will do whatever they can to find their foster daughter and bring her home, longing to give her the genuine love she’s never known.

Over the course of a single summer, hearts are broken, scars exposed, friendships blossom, and ultimately a greater truth is learned.

A greater God is understood.

My rating:

First of all—CONGRATULATIONS, Libby, on publishing your debut novel!! Welcome to the author world. <3

Dewdrops & Butterflies was . . . hard to get into. Rose had cut herself off from all human contact, and while my heart went out to her, I couldn't connect with her, I guess? I mean, it's a middle-grade novel, so with it being targeted for a younger reader, I wouldn't expect to click with her right away. But still. I also found it weird to read Alex's POV at first. But more on that in a moment.

For about the first third of the book, I found it hard to convince myself to pick it back up. But after that? I was hooked. The plot was by no means fast, and yet it didn't really seem to drag either. (Though the we-almost-had-her-but-lost-her-again bits made me want to scream in frustration, haha!)

So, Rose. Cynical. Hurt. Scared to death. And in desperate need of unconditional love. There were times that I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and say "WAKE UP GIRL, THE WORLD DOESN'T HATE YOU!" But with the chapters that flashed back to her past . . . I understood. I understood why Rose was the way she was. And I was okay with it. And that in itself shows you Libby's storytelling skills. (Also the flashbacks were my faaaaave.)

Alex. Like I said, at first I didn't really care for reading his POV. It was . . . well, I guess it was just strange to read a story from the point of view from a married man in this instance. There was nothing wrong with it, and I grew to look forward to his chapters! I think it was probably just that Alex had a different personality than I'm used to. One thing I appreciated about his character was that he wanted to take matters into his own hands but it didn't drive me nuts. And then he realized that he'd started putting his trust in himself rather than God. (And if that was a spoiler, I'm sorry *cries*)

And of course I have to talk about Joseph for a sec. Because he's my favorite character and I NEEEEEEED a whole book for his story, 'kay, Libby?

The gospel message was portrayed fabulously. I loved Angel's comebacks and the way she was so sure of her faith. (Angel grated on me at first, but she kinda grew on me.)

The writing style was good. There were times that I wish Libby would've done more showing rather than telling, but there were times that the story just sucked me in. So there's that.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a clean, romance-free middle-grade novel about love and redemption. <3

Want to find more about Dewdrops & Butterflies? You can find it on Goodreads HERE.

You can also connect with Libby on Facebook, Instagram (at both her author account and her bookstagram account), and Pinterest!

Libby is also hosting a giveaway! Hop over to her blog to enter!

Have you read Dewdrops & Butterflies yet? Go grab your copy if you haven't!