Review: Not a dull moment!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 10, 2012
"From the Chrysalis," a romantic novel written by Karen E. Black, piqued my curiosity from the very first chapter. The theme of butterflies and forbidden love intertwine in a well-written, intricate story.  Liza, a nave girl, comes to grips with her emerging feelings for her charismatic, dangerous first cousin, Dace, despite the fact that he is imprisoned for manslaughter and later branded as an ex-convict.  Though very different in some ways--Liza loves books and butterflies and is inevitably drawn to men who assure her demise, and Dace is a hard, haunted man who thrives on trouble and danger--the two characters feel misunderstood from their legalistic, dysfunctional families and are essentially outcasts from a 1970's society.  The scintillating prose and the complex, authentic characters tantalizes the reader as much as the swiftly moving plot filled with prison scenes, court cases, sexual encounters, and butterfly gardens.  This book will make you reflect on how choices we make result in consequences we later have to deal with, and your heart will ache with the tragic decisions that Liza and Dace have to make.  This book also makes you question if love is really a choice or if it is predetermined.  Though not all of us go to prison, we often trap ourselves in prisons of our own making...can Liza and Dace make the ultimate choice to free themselves from their own cages?  Will they be able to surface out of societal guilt and familial expectations to remain true to themselves?  "From the Chrysalis" is well worth your time and I highly recommend reading this book.