For Bo and her siblings, the underground fight club may finally provide escape from life with an abusive uncle ― but only if she can win.
Never again. That’s what seventeen-year-old Bo Clark has promised her two younger siblings ever since they were put in separate foster homes―a situation that nearly turned deadly for her little brother, and that they have vowed never to repeat. Bo will do anything to keep that promise. Even if it means enduring the abuse of Uncle Jack, their new guardian. When Jack discovers that Bo has a talent for boxing, he signs her up for an underground fight club tournament, which could bring in enough money for her to move out with her siblings as soon as she turns eighteen.
But the ring is a brutal place, and when Bo’s cutman is arrested, Jack is forced to bring a new one onto the team. Liam turns out to be a schoolmate of Bo’s, and even as the two of them grow closer, she worries that he will go to the authorities if he ever finds out Jack is hurting her.
As Bo makes her way closer to the big prize, Jack starts to set his sights beyond the tournament, and in an explosive finale, the violence moves outside the ring, putting everything Bo loves at risk.
Key Text Features
Biographical information
chapters
dialogue
epigraph
For Bo and her siblings, the underground fight club may finally provide escape from life with an abusive uncle ― but only if she can win.
Never again. That’s what seventeen-year-old Bo Clark has promised her two younger siblings ever since they were put in separate foster homes―a situation that nearly turned deadly for her little brother, and that they have vowed never to repeat. Bo will do anything to keep that promise. Even if it means enduring the abuse of Uncle Jack, their new guardian. When Jack discovers that Bo has a talent for boxing, he signs her up for an underground fight club tournament, which could bring in enough money for her to move out with her siblings as soon as she turns eighteen.
But the ring is a brutal place, and when Bo’s cutman is arrested, Jack is forced to bring a new one onto the team. Liam turns out to be a schoolmate of Bo’s, and even as the two of them grow closer, she worries that he will go to the authorities if he ever finds out Jack is hurting her.
As Bo makes her way closer to the big prize, Jack starts to set his sights beyond the tournament, and in an explosive finale, the violence moves outside the ring, putting everything Bo loves at risk.
Key Text Features
Biographical information
chapters
dialogue
epigraph
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Oct 7, 2025 |
| Specifications | 352 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in |
| Written By |
ABBIE HARLOW<\/strong> has a BA from Brigham Young University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University (Young Adult Track), where The Butterfly’s Sting<\/em> was her thesis project. Now when she’s not writing, she works in the main office of a high school, where she observes the triumphs and trials of students every day. Abbie lives in Alameda, California, inspiration for the setting of this story, and where her family has lived for five generations. The Butterfly’s Sting<\/em> is her first novel.<\/p> |
| Written By |
|
ABBIE HARLOW<\/strong> has a BA from Brigham Young University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University (Young Adult Track), where The Butterfly’s Sting<\/em> was her thesis project. Now when she’s not writing, she works in the main office of a high school, where she observes the triumphs and trials of students every day. Abbie lives in Alameda, California, inspiration for the setting of this story, and where her family has lived for five generations. The Butterfly’s Sting<\/em> is her first novel.<\/p> |
| Audience | ages 13 to 18 / grades 11 to 12 |
| Key Text Features | Biographical information; chapters; dialogue; epigraph<\/p> |