This is an unusual novel. The writing is brilliant and the author creates the atmosphere so well. This book is powerful and raw

I really enjoyed this. The opening in particular is exceptional. I remember LOVING "The Girl in the Flammable Skirt" in college. I wonder if teaching has made it difficult for Ms. Bender to be productive - her first novel in ten years! But anyway, it's not a race. Overall this reminded me of "Lemon Cake" in its balance between suspenseful, immersive storytelling and its use of the strange. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

The Butterfly Lampshade was a moving, interesting and powerful story, exploring the impact mental illness has on people. It was written in a way that had me invested in the characters and plot. I will be going back and reading more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

This is a very sad book about the difficulties of navigating life as a young person who has a bipolar parent. We see Francie struggle with guilt and responsibility for her mother's illness and learn to come to a place of understanding and acceptance through revisiting significant memories. I found the timeline jumped a little jarringly and was occasionally confusing. But this book was sensitively and evocatively written about a tough subject.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On the night her mother is taken to a mental health hospital after a psychotic episode, eight year-old Francie is mesmerised by a lamp adorned with butterflies as she falls asleep. When she wakes, Francie sees a dead butterfly matching the ones on the lamp floating in a glass of water. She drinks it before anyone sees. Twenty-years later, Francie is compelled to make sense of that moment and two other incidents that have haunted her life. But how close are her memories to reality, and will she ever be free of them? Simply brilliant

I think I was in the minority in finding The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake a story that I couldn't wait to finish. I requested an ARC of The Butterfly Lampshade, intrigued by the idea, and then realised the link. I was nervous starting this - and, I have to say, there are still some elements of this that I found repetitive and strange - but this time round the oddness seems to make more sense.
Once again we are exploring mental health and relationships between mother and daughter. This time round our focus is Francie and her mother who is living with psychotic episodes. After one such event Francie is taken for the night to stay with a babysitter before travelling across country to live with her aunt and uncle. The remainder of the book focuses on her trying to adjust to her new normal, and reflecting on some key memories of that time.
The book opens with Francie overhearing her mother's phonecall to her sister during the onset of one of her episodes. This is related from the perspective of an eight year old, and is quite upsetting given its naive exploration of someone in such difficulty.
Francie remembers a beautiful lampshade at the home of her babysitter. It is covered in butterflies, and is linked for her to the incident when her mother is taken to a psychiatric home. She also recalls finding a beetle and some rose petals.
These three episodes are returned to time and time again and, on occasion, I found myself desperate for something to happen. However, in the passages where we uncover Francie and see her settling into her new home/how she has matured, I found myself fully absorbed in things.
I'm grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.