Summer of the Mariposas
Written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Published by Lee & Low Books
When Odilia and her four sisters find a dead body in the swimming hole, they embark on a hero’s journey to return the dead man to his family in Mexico. But returning home to Texas turns into an odyssey that would rival Homer’s original tale.
With the supernatural aid of ghostly La Llorona via a magical earring, Odilia and her little sisters travel a road of tribulation to their long-lost grandmother’s house. Along the way, they must outsmart a witch and her Evil Trinity: a wily warlock, a coven of vicious half-human barn owls, and a bloodthirsty livestock-hunting chupacabras. Can these fantastic trials prepare Odilia and her sisters for what happens when they face their final test, returning home to the real world, where goddesses and ghosts can no longer help them?
Summer of the Mariposas is not just a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey, it is a celebration of sisterhood and maternal love.
Look for the Spanish version, El verano de las mariposas.
Primary ISBN:
Publication Date: September 2012
Available As: Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult, Age 11 or older
Community Represented: Mexican/Mexican American
Themes: Audiobook, Award Winner, Coming of Age, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Family, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Identity, Family Relationship: Siblings, Family Separation: By Detention, Generation: 1st, Genre: Fantasy & Folklore, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Unaccompanied Minors, US/Mexican Border Crossing
Setting: United States (TX), Mexico
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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