Butterfly Yellow is a gorgeous, lyrical novel about 18-year-old Vietnamese refugee Hằng and her story of finding family, identity, and love in a new country. After being separated from her younger brother, Linh, in the wake of the Vietnam War, Hằng has spent the past six years saving money, crafting a plan, and doing whatever it takes to reach America and reunite with Linh. However, when she finally arrives in Texas, Hằng is devastated to find Linh cold and unresponsive to her tales of a land he has long forgotten. With the help of aspring cowboy LeeRoy, Hằng begins a new journey, seeking to bring out the Linh she once knew while reconciling her painful past with an uncertain future. 

I loved everything about this book. Like real people, the character weren’t just flat iterations of universally likable or unlikable stereotypes, but rather multi-faceted individuals with dreams, hopes, and histories that honestly reflect today’s society. Even though this novel could’ve easily verged into sappy, sympathy-eliciting territory, Hằng keeps the story charging forward with her prudent, hard-headed personality. The fact that the story’s poignance comes from a place of genuine connection makes the story all the more moving. Most impressive of all, though, was the beauty of the storytelling itself. Lại strings together words like a poet but with the well-paced forward flow of prose. Her descriptions of characters’ actions and memories are concise and cutting, but the zinging sharpness of these objective descriptions is balanced by her soft, natural imagery and dialogue. I’d recommend this book to just about everyone, but be aware that there are extremely dark, gut-wrenching portions dealing directly with death, violence, and traumatic experiences. Overall, though, for anyone who’s ever questioned what it means to belong, to love, or to long for something you can’t have, this book is for you.Final Verdict:

Final Verdict

• 5/5 Stars
• Highly recommend to all, unless you’re sensitive to graphic descriptions of violence and trauma
• Honest, poignant representation of a Vietnamese refugee’s experience in the U.S. searching for her long-lost brother; elegant, sparse prose telling a too-often-forgotten story make this a wholly worthwhile read