Monday, March 26, 2018

The Butterfly's Daughter - #TeaserTuesday and First Chapter / First Paragraph / Tuesday Intros

I enjoy books where I learn something while being engrossed in a good plot. In The Butterfly's Daughterthe subject was monarch butterflies. Mary Alice Monroe takes readers on a young woman's journey to fulfill her recently-deceased grandmother's wish for the two of them to go to Mexico. The granddaughter's quest parallels the flight of monarch butterflies in their annual migrations south. This is also a coming-of-age story. 

The book begins with a prologue, in which the grandmother tells an ancient fable to her 21-year-old granddaughter. Each chapter also begins with brief factual information about the monarch butterfly's migration. The action in Chapter One starts like this:


First Paragraph(s):

    Esperanza Avila had told the story so many times over the years that it was accepted as truth--even by herself. She'd meant only to blanket her granddaughter's frightening loss, not to mislead her. She saw the story she'd created as a safe, happy cocoon for her to grow up in.
    But in the end, she'd created a lie. Now she was caught in her own trap of deception. The only way out was to tell Luz the truth, no matter how painful that truth might be.

Teaser (from page 256 in trade paperback):

There were moments in the past three years of recovery when she felt such despair that she didn't think she could make it past another day without using. Moments like now. At these low points when her hands shook and her gut roiled, she'd go to the garden and put her hands deep into the earth. 

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction

Book Length: 382 Pages (trade paperback) plus a reader's group guide.
Amazon Link: The Butterfly's Daughter
I picked this up from the book exchange shelf at the senior center. It was published in 2012.

Synopsis: Every year, the monarch butterflies - las mariposas - fly more than two thousand miles on fragile wings to return to their winter home in Mexico. Now Luz Avila makes that same perilous journey south as she honors a vow to her beloved abuela - the grandmother who raised her - to return her ashes to her ancestral village. As Luz departs Milwaukee in a ramshackle old VW Bug, she finds her heart opened by a series of seemingly random encounters with remarkable women. In San Antonio, however, a startling revelation awaits: a reunion with a woman from her past. Together, the two cross into Mexico to await the returning monarchs in the little village Abuela called home, but they are also crossing a border that separates past from present . . . and truth from lies.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by The PurpleBooker. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please! List the author and book title too.
Link up HERE



First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by I'd Rather Be At The Beach. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger
Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

16 comments:

  1. I love Mary Alice Monroe's stories. This sounds so good. I want this one. Thanks Sandy.

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  2. I totally agree - this does sound good.

    The Monarch butterfly info - (although a totally different genre, I know) kind of reminds me of 'The Dome' by Stephen King, wasn't that a huge part of the book - kids discovering the Monarch butterflies?

    Here is mine for this week: http://bit.ly/2pEFAQY The WIld Inside by Jamey Bradbury

    Happy Tuesday!

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  3. You've piqued my interest, Sandy. At the beginning of the year I visited the Butterfly Conservatory in Key West. What an amazing experience I had (and lovely photos I took). Glad this book was a good read for you.

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  4. This sounds like a wonderful story. And I can't resist covers like this one.

    My TT from Three Strikes, You're Dead

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  5. Mary Alice Monroe is an auto read author for me! This one was good

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  6. I like to learn new things when I read too. This week I am featuring Better Homes and Corpses by Kathleen Bridge. Happy reading!

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  7. This sounds good Sandy; I'd try more for sure.

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  8. I've only read a few of her books but enjoyed each one. I think I'd enjoy this book too.

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  9. I also love Mary Alice Monroe's books...and this one sounds like a must-read. Thanks for sharing...and here's mine: “HER EVERY FEAR”

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  10. I've heard great things about Mary Alice Monroe's books, but I haven't gotten around to reading any of them. See what we are featuring at Girl Who Reads

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  11. So many of my blogging friends have recommended this author to me, but I haven't got around to reading any of her books as yet.

    These were my memorable sentences from the extracts you shared...

    "But in the end, she'd created a lie. Now she was caught in her own trap of deception. The only way out was to tell Luz the truth, no matter how painful that truth might be."

    Liars never really prosper do they? Their lies will always find them out.

    I also checked out the author at Goodreads and I found this alternative cover to 'The Butterfly's Daughter', which I have to be honest, I do personally prefer.

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8597942-the-butterfly-s-daughter?from_search=true

    Thanks for sharing and Happy Reading :)

    Yvonne

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  12. I haven't read anything by this author yet, but it seems like I need to. Thank you for sharing! My teaser is from Phoenix Fire by S.D. Grimm

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  13. I don't generally go for books built around lies, but taking a VW to Mexico sounds interesting.

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  14. This doesn't really sound like a book I'd normally pick up ... but that intro definitely caught my eye!!

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  15. It doesn't like something I'd select, but I liked the writing!

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