Reviews

Butterfly: From Refugee to Olympian - My Story of Rescue, Hope, and Triumph by Yusra Mardini

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sopsyjo's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

4.25

laura_corsi's review against another edition

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3.0

My favorite part of this book was the beginning where Yusra tells what life was like in Syria before the civil war. I find that I have a hard time imagining a Middle Eastern country that is prosperous and at peace. Yusra's Syria is beautiful and prosperous. A country with a rich heritage, an ancient history, that has been taking on the modern world just fine thank you very much. Of course, the war puts all of that in jeopardy and damages heritage sites all over Syria. Yusra, and her sister Sarah, leave Syria because they both dream of a better life than they will be able to have in their now war torn country. A war that is still going on to this day. I also loved hearing about Yusra and Sarah's athletic training and routine both in Syria and in Germany. As Yusra says, "Being a refugee is not a choice. We, too, can achieve great things."

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

Butterfly is the memoir of a Syrian refugee who went on to be an Olympic swimmer. Yusra was a teenager living in Damascus, Syria when ware broken out in her nation. At first Yusra and her family attempted to carry on their normal lives of attending swimming practice and going out with friends. But, soon it became clear that they must try to leave Syria for someplace safer.

I enjoyed this book. It really brought a light to a refugee crisis through the eyes of a refugee. A must read for anyone in today's world.

This counts towards the Reading Women 2019 Challenge task #10: A book about a woman athlete