Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Summer of the Mariposas is a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey - and a celebration of sisterhood and maternal love.

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 show more 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? show less

Lupita is the oldest of eight children, and just beginning high school. Born in Mexico, she and her parents immigrated to Texas when she was a six years old and have lived in Eagle Pass ever since. They are a close-knit family and Lupe does all she can as the oldest to help her mother care for the younger children. Like all teens she has to find her individual voice amid the cacophony of siblings, friends and relatives, and juggle the expectations of her parents, grandparents and teachers show more against her own passions and fears. When her mother is diagnosed with uterine cancer the illness will forever change the family relationships. Struggling to find her own path to adulthood, and taking on more responsibility as her mother’s illness progresses, Lupita finds solace in writing poetry.

This is a semi-autobiographical novel, written entirely in verse. Presented as a journal, the story follows Lupita as she deals with high school classes, friends and teachers who don’t understand, and her desperate desire to support her mother and help her siblings as they all deal with the devastating news of Mami’s cancer.

Garcia McCall says so much with so few words! Her poetry is evocative and restrained, powerful and tender, vivid and elusive, full of sadness and joy, but mostly full of love. One quote:
Waiting for la Muerte to take Mami
is like being bound,
lying face up on the sacrificial altar
of the god Huitzilopochtli
pleading with the Aztec priest,
asking him to be kind
while he rips out my heart. show less

This young adult novel written in free verse was beautiful and moving. Spanning a young girl's teen years, it chronicles her memories of moving to America from Mexico, assimilating in school, finding her voice and her passion in writing and drama, and the fierce love shared by her family of six girls and two boys. While the family is close, the bond between Lupita, the oldest, and her mother Mami is particularly close. When Mami is diagnosed with cancer, Lupita assumes an even more important show more new role in the family, while burying her anguish in her writing and her acting. Lupita seeks solace under the sturdy mesquite tree that decided to take root in the middle of her mother's beloved rose garden and survived despite Mami's best efforts to defeat it. Lupita's voice shines through her writing -- her pain is palpable, but so is her determination to survive. Lovely.

Curriculum: this book could inspire meaty and meaningful discussions about assimilating and fitting into two different cultures, as well as coming of age issues such as assuming responsibility for your family, balancing home and school responsibilities, and coping with heartbreak and tragedy.

McCall, G. (2011). New York : Lee & Low Books. show less

This book follows the life of Lupita as she deals with her mother's battle with cancer while also trying to make it through high school. It was written in verse and somehow ripped my heart out. This book would be great for middle or high school students, but it was easier to read than a novel because of the poetry format. I want to use this book for a class discussion on the immigrant experience and just the experience of growing older.