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Bubblegum and Butterflies
In a small South African town, 16-year-old Charlize seems to have it all: popularity, beauty, and a bright future. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Daniel, the town's notorious bad boy, spends his days mastering tricks at the local skate park and avoiding responsibility.
Their worlds collide when Daniel, showing off on his skateboard, crashes into Charlize outside their high school. The accident leaves Charlize with a broken arm and Daniel's bubblegum tangled in her hair. Furious and humiliated, Charlize vows to make Daniel's life miserable, while he dismisses her as just another uptight popular girl.
As part of his punishment, Daniel is assigned to help Charlize catch up with her schoolwork. Forced to spend time together, they begin to see beyond their initial impressions. Charlize discovers Daniel's hidden depths and his struggles with an absent father. Daniel, in turn, learns about the pressure Charlize faces to be perfect and her secret passion for photography.
Their mutual animosity slowly transforms into friendship and then blossoms into first love. Daniel teaches Charlize to skateboard, while she helps him believe in his potential beyond his bad-boy reputation. Together, they explore their town with new eyes, finding beauty in unexpected places.
But their newfound happiness is threatened when Charlize reveals that her family is immigrating to Australia at the end of the year. As the move approaches, Daniel and Charlize must navigate the pain of impending separation and the intensity of young love.
Their worlds collide when Daniel, showing off on his skateboard, crashes into Charlize outside their high school. The accident leaves Charlize with a broken arm and Daniel's bubblegum tangled in her hair. Furious and humiliated, Charlize vows to make Daniel's life miserable, while he dismisses her as just another uptight popular girl.
As part of his punishment, Daniel is assigned to help Charlize catch up with her schoolwork. Forced to spend time together, they begin to see beyond their initial impressions. Charlize discovers Daniel's hidden depths and his struggles with an absent father. Daniel, in turn, learns about the pressure Charlize faces to be perfect and her secret passion for photography.
Their mutual animosity slowly transforms into friendship and then blossoms into first love. Daniel teaches Charlize to skateboard, while she helps him believe in his potential beyond his bad-boy reputation. Together, they explore their town with new eyes, finding beauty in unexpected places.
But their newfound happiness is threatened when Charlize reveals that her family is immigrating to Australia at the end of the year. As the move approaches, Daniel and Charlize must navigate the pain of impending separation and the intensity of young love.
236 pages, Paperback
Published April 24, 2025
About the author
Lynette Ferreira
59 books103 followersLynette Ferreira writes the kind of romance that feels warm, emotional, and bittersweet. Her stories explore first love, fragile hearts, friendship, and the quiet magic woven into everyday life. Her characters discover themselves as they discover each other. They fall in love slowly, bravely, and imperfectly — the way real hearts do. And whether the story ends in a promise or a goodbye, Lynette’s books always leave behind a little warmth.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 23, 2025
I genuinely really enjoyed this novella. It is about an opposites attract, unlikely-yet-perfect couple: one is forced to be perfect whilst the other is expected to fail. They have a short lived but love filled relationship.
This was a brilliant book, it was from a third person perspective which allowed broader thoughts and ideas into the story rather than a character focused narrative —> this is almost always done horribly which always makes me detest the writing techniques however this was brilliant! It effortlessly swapped character Point Of Views (POVs), their thoughts, emotions and what was going on in their lives at that time.
I only have a few things I feel the need to bring up:
- How short it was! Urgh I really do hate short stories (in my defense, I did not realise this was a novella until I checked the little amount of pages [69…69 pages!] )
- I felt the book was really centred around the Main Male/Female Characters’ relationship, which of course is the point but it could have delved deeper into; the problems surrounding them, their parents, the hierarchy of wealth and power, school and friends (my fave aspect of ANY book!)
- The way it ended just felt so… abrupt. Like it had loose ends, in addition to this, there was no real plot (or multiple plots which I also love!) which threw me off a little.
Otherwise I would recommend this novella; a short, sweet but no happy ending love story.
Xoxo….
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a brilliant book, it was from a third person perspective which allowed broader thoughts and ideas into the story rather than a character focused narrative —> this is almost always done horribly which always makes me detest the writing techniques however this was brilliant! It effortlessly swapped character Point Of Views (POVs), their thoughts, emotions and what was going on in their lives at that time.
I only have a few things I feel the need to bring up:
- How short it was! Urgh I really do hate short stories (in my defense, I did not realise this was a novella until I checked the little amount of pages [69…69 pages!] )
- I felt the book was really centred around the Main Male/Female Characters’ relationship, which of course is the point but it could have delved deeper into; the problems surrounding them, their parents, the hierarchy of wealth and power, school and friends (my fave aspect of ANY book!)
- The way it ended just felt so… abrupt. Like it had loose ends, in addition to this, there was no real plot (or multiple plots which I also love!) which threw me off a little.
Otherwise I would recommend this novella; a short, sweet but no happy ending love story.
Xoxo….
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 4, 2025
Bubblegum and Butterflies is a good, and enjoyable teen young adult coming of age romance read. The story has a great entertaining world building story line. The characters are great, wonderful, great development, and they have great chemistry. This story is a very entertaining read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 9, 2025
From the beginning, this lovely book captivated me with its portrayal of sweet Charleze and her struggles, and the moment bad boy Daniel arrived, I knew things were going to get exciting! In fact, their story becomes something far more moving and poignant than I ever expected. Breathtaking!
August 10, 2025
I've read several books written by Lynette Ferreira; she is becoming one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to read more of her books.
She has written a good stand-alone book. The story is about Charlize & Daniel.
She has written a good stand-alone book. The story is about Charlize & Daniel.
May 28, 2025
This book absolutely captured everything I love about first love stories - that sweet, nostalgic feeling that takes you right back to being a teenager with your heart on your sleeve.
The meet-cute between Charlize and Daniel is absolutely perfect - a skateboard crash that leaves bubblegum tangled in her hair? It's chaotic and messy and exactly how real teenage encounters happen. What I loved most was watching these two characters who initially can't stand each other slowly peel back their layers and discover who they really are beneath the surface.
The character development is phenomenal. Charlize isn't just the perfect popular girl, and Daniel isn't just the stereotypical bad boy. They both have depth, struggles, and dreams that make them feel incredibly real. Watching Daniel teach Charlize to skateboard while she helps him see his own potential had me getting those wonderful butterfly feelings in my stomach!
The South African small-town setting adds such authenticity to their story. You can feel the close-knit community atmosphere and how their relationship blooms as they explore familiar places with fresh eyes through each other's perspectives.
The impending immigration to Australia hanging over their happiness had me crying actual tears, but there's something beautifully hopeful about it too. Sometimes love stories don't end the way we expect, but that doesn't make them any less meaningful.
This book perfectly captures the intensity and bittersweetness of young love. If you want a story that will make you feel nostalgic, give you butterflies, and maybe make you cry happy-sad tears, this is absolutely perfect.
The meet-cute between Charlize and Daniel is absolutely perfect - a skateboard crash that leaves bubblegum tangled in her hair? It's chaotic and messy and exactly how real teenage encounters happen. What I loved most was watching these two characters who initially can't stand each other slowly peel back their layers and discover who they really are beneath the surface.
The character development is phenomenal. Charlize isn't just the perfect popular girl, and Daniel isn't just the stereotypical bad boy. They both have depth, struggles, and dreams that make them feel incredibly real. Watching Daniel teach Charlize to skateboard while she helps him see his own potential had me getting those wonderful butterfly feelings in my stomach!
The South African small-town setting adds such authenticity to their story. You can feel the close-knit community atmosphere and how their relationship blooms as they explore familiar places with fresh eyes through each other's perspectives.
The impending immigration to Australia hanging over their happiness had me crying actual tears, but there's something beautifully hopeful about it too. Sometimes love stories don't end the way we expect, but that doesn't make them any less meaningful.
This book perfectly captures the intensity and bittersweetness of young love. If you want a story that will make you feel nostalgic, give you butterflies, and maybe make you cry happy-sad tears, this is absolutely perfect.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews