FanficRecs Erratic, but also refreshing and enjoyable.
'A Butterfly Effect' strikes a rather bracing dynamic between mushy drama and fierce, brutal action. One minute the characters are sharing a tender moment, and the next, someone is being violently tortured. I couldn't say if this is a byproduct of the author's inexperience or mastery, but it certainly seems to be intentional. The fic is a wide-ranging collection of emotional ups and downs that switch about so suddenly, the reader is left feeling dizzy and breathless. While some may not like that sort of story progression, I personally enjoyed the ride.
On an unrelated note, in the eight years I've been reading fanfics, I've never come across a female OC that keeps my attention the way Harriet does. She is believably feminine, believably Potter, believably conflicted, and believably adorable. It's been about a month since I've finished the latest update and I'm really starting to miss her as I return to poorly-written renditions of canon!Harry. (I think the main reason I like Harriet so much is because of the story's varying povs. Seeing the main OC from the eyes of established canon chars really helps to immerse the reader in her personality and motivations.)
Definitely worth taking the time to read.
FanficRecs A great fic if you like femslash.
What can I say about A Butterfly Effect that hasn't been said already? It is thrilling, well-written, and logical. The relationships and characterizations are flawless and the detailed background the author creates for things jkr left vague is astounding.
I really wanted to review because I don't quite agree with what some of these prudes are saying about the sexuality of the characters. I read some of the comments made and all I see is "I wasn't sexual as a pre-teen or teenager, so that must mean everyone else in the world is exactly like me." Come on, people. I mean, I went to a private middle-school and high-school. All anyone ever seemed to talk about was sex.
I suppose I'm saying that since no one is having sex in this fic before the age of 14... I find the whole thing pretty tame. But the prudes obviously had a different experience with their sexuality growing up... and that's fine. Just don't be criticizing the rest of us.
FanficRecs not for everyone, but definitely interesting
The story itself is good, but I find it disappointing that the main relationships we see are mostly in the form of crushes instead of friendships. I don't doubt for a minute the sincerity of the feelings presented -because the author is simply THAT good a writer-, but I would rather have seen them as friends for a few years before they became almost-lovers at such tender ages (eleven to fourteen).
I realize that teenage sexuality can and does indeed happen in real life at those ages, but seeing those specific Harry Potter characters (except maaaybe for Malfoy and some of the Slytherins, since we don't know that much about their private lives) behave that way feels very jarring compared to how they behaved in canon.
It all feels like too odd and convenient a change resulting from the butterfly effect of Harry being born a girl.
Also, Harry could come across as a Mary Sue (too pretty, everyone wants her, tragic past, powerful with unusual skills), but, personally, I feel that the trials and setbacks she keeps going through balance those traits out.
On the good side, the trauma fem!Harry and the others are going through and all the consequences developing from their experiences are very believable and well-written. This is an example of angst written well, in my personal opinion.
The story has a blend of a genuine sense of adventure, intrigue and magic that many stories in the fandom are missing and resonate very well with the reader.
Romance/sexuality aside, the characters are believable. Even when their personalities feel "off", they are rounded, tridimensional people, not just puppets going through the motions, simply there to move the plot along.
Anyway, this IS a well-written story. The warnings and 'Mature' rating are well-earned, but it's definitely interesting and different, and certainly worth checking out; just keep in mind that it has some potentially triggering subjects: violence, death, emotional, psychological and mental abuse, both implicit and explicit sex, non-consensual sex, minors in sexual situations, emotional angst, possession/mental-power-play, and possibly others I've forgotten. There is also het, slash and femslash thrown in almost everywhere, if that's something you care about.
Like someone said in the comments, good Fem!Harry is hard to find. This is one instance of it.
FanficRecs A heartfelt romance.
I thought I wouldn't like this, but I'm glad that I didn't listen to my inhibitions. After picking up this story I couldn't put it down. It's riveting from start to finish and the romance between Harriet and Ginny is absolutely breathtaking. A great read.
FanficRecs Enjoyed It
So far, it's an extraordinarily well-reasoned, well-written, and enjoyable For Wantofa Nail fic. Starts off with the best Sirius/Peter confrontation I've ever had the pleasure to read, then launches into Harriet's story. Begins like any other femharry introducing the OC, who surprisingly reads very similar to JKR's Harry, despite being a girl and CONSIDERABLY more angsty/needy. The plot diverges from canon slowly with hints and tidbits of 'squiggle', which is eventually revealed to be some form of representation of Harriet and Ginny's relationship (the author makes it relatively clear that it has something to do with horcruxes as well). When we hit the beginning of the second book, we see the first major culmination of changes and the plot becomes vastly more interesting from that point forward.
Had some fanservice scenes that made me facepalm, but they're relatively few and far between.
All in all, a great fic. Certainly the only fem!harry I've ever found that is actually worthy of a tvtropes rec.
FanficRecs Where to start...
I realize that I'm probably not as articulate as the other reviewers. I wanted to like this fic so much. The first year was great. Some things made me groan, but it was manageable. Eleven year olds developing strong crushes near instantly was jarring, but not a total turn off. The author's grasp of the language and spelling were fantastic.
Then came second year. Harriet dies in the cupboard from neglect and magically rises again like Jesus. That's when I ran from this fic. The seemingly little things suddenly came rushing back. The way the author saw Harry's canon abuse and seemingly said "I can do better." The troubling sexualized behavior of children. Curiosity is normal but we were being hit with if for multiple paragraphs. Maybe a mention then move on, but come on.
Bottom line. The author is very good at writing. So good they even got me to ignore my distaste for certain things. I might have even kept reading, but turning Harriet into Jesus was a step too far. That and not even killing off the Horcrux in her scar. I might have bought her resurrection if that had been the case.