The Butterfly Girl

by Blossom Elfman

Sixteen-year-old Florrie's dreams of perfect love prove illusive when her boyfriend abandons her once he discovers that she is pregnant, leaving her to decide whether or not to have the baby alone.

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 1980

About the author

Clare "Blossom" Elfman was an American novelist and senior literary editor of Buzzine. She was the mother of director and publisher Richard Elfman and musician and composer Danny Elfman, Her novel The Girls of Huntington House was produced as a film and received an Emmy as a television movie.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awww... hippies!! Whatever happened to them? The Butterfly Girl doesn't showcase the smelly, stoner, poser hippies of the 1980's and 1990's but genuinely naive, hopeful, free spirit and new age hippies of the 1970's. It makes me feel all fuzzy and nostalgic. It also makes me roll my eyes, lol. That is, teenage Megan would have totally wanted protagonist Florrie for a BFF. Adult Megan just smiles and shakes her head every time the girl does something idiotic (which is fairly frequently.)

So this is a book about teenage pregnancy. An incredibly dated book about teenage pregnancy. Florrie is able to run away from home, meet up with various helpful strangers, work odd jobs and even have her baby with the help of a midwife. Although she is repeatedly encouraged to get her head straight, no one suggests the importance of finishing highschool or seeking medical attention for her child. More than anything else, The Butterfly Girl shows how immature and young Florrie is. While I don’t believe she is more childlike than any teenage girl, her decision to keep her baby forces her to come to terms with the real world much quicker than she would have otherwise. Despite the fact that Florrie’s experience is so very different from that which a modern pregnant teenage runaway would face; her story is still worth reading.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking it back to the 80's! I found this at a used bookstore & it was 25 cents well spent. It was a great story even if the girl was a bit of an idiot. That's the point though. She's a teenager, in love, then pregnant & alone, then searching to be found when she's not exactly sure how it is she got so lost in the first place. Even if you can't identify with the bad choices she makes, as a female you sympathize with her & hope she gets her mess together at the end. I remember reading this when I was about 10, but as an adult I definitely got more from it.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books when I was a teen, and I still have this and "The Sister Act" on my shelves!
I was more of a punk than a hippie, but I wanted to join a commune after I read this. I saw myself as misunderstood, as the protagonist did. I also had a very rocky relationship with my dad, as she did.
Another by Elfman that I would recommend is "A House for Jonnie O." But that one is much sadder.

[Jeff Robbins]

You have to be a great writer to produce such a clear portrait of a totally spaced out girl. I also appreciated Charlie, the unattractive fat guy who clearly expresses the impossibility of his ever winning in this world where only the handsome and beautiful are favored -- and then actually ends up with the goddess.