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    The Butterfly's Daughter
    The Butterfly's Daughter
    The Butterfly's Daughter
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Butterfly's Daughter

    Written by Mary Alice Monroe

    Narrated by Mary Alice Monroe

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    About this audiobook

    Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of the Lowcountry Summer trilogy, once again touches hearts with her lyrical, poignant, and moving novel The Butterfly’s Daughter!

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 3, 2011
    ISBN9781441813008
    Author

    Mary Alice Monroe

    Mary Alice Monroe is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of thirteen novels. Her books have received numerous awards, including the RT Lifetime Achievement Award, Florida Distinguished Author Award, SC Book Festival Award, and the International Fiction Award for Green Fiction. An active conservationist, she lives in the lowcountry of South Carolina where she is at work on her next novel. Visit her at maryalicemonroe.com and on Facebook.

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    Reviews for The Butterfly's Daughter

    4/5

    33 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The Butterfly's Daughter tells the story of Luz Avila. Twenty-one years old, she lives with her grandmother in Milwaukee. Her mother died when she was five, and she's never met her father. Luz, while she loves her abuela and has a great boyfriend, Sully, isn't completely pleased with her life. She wants to go to college, but she's stuck working in a factory and she's not sure if Sully's the right guy for her. Then Abuela comes up with a harebrained scheme: she and Luz are going to drive to San Antonio in an old beat-up VW Beetle to meet their extended family, then follow the monarch butterflies down to their family's traditional home in Mexico. Luz rejects the spur-of-the-moment plan, but when her grandmother suddenly dies, she decides to embark on the trip, alone, and try to figure out what her grandmother wanted her to do. Along the way, Luz meets a series of quirky, extraordinary women, each of whom will impact her journey of self-discovery.First off, this is not my type of book. I only skimmed over the blurb when I requested it on GoodReads and missed the part about it being chick lit that's best suited for an older age group than mine. Though Luz is twenty-one, she's more of a mature woman than a college kid, so the plot of the story is really better for grown-up women, not teenagers like me. But Monroe's writing is good, even if the plot's not my thing (and she keeps it appropriate for younger readers, too). The storyline seemed very predictable to me - woman goes on journey of self-discovery, meets quirky characters, comes to new realizations of herself and women and life in general, figures out whether her guy is the right one or not, runs into some kind of conflict but it gets resolved, and goes on to have a happy ending. In this respect, The Butterfly's Daughter is an excellent feel-good read if you're into that sort of novel. For me, it's not my style and, while I enjoyed reading it for the most part, by the end I was getting bored and ready to move on to the next book on my TBR list. My fault, not the book's.
    • 4/5
      I really liked reading this book. Twenty-one year old Luz begins a journey to return her grandmother's (abuela's) ashes to her ancestral village in Mexico. Luz had been raised by her abuela, who told her that her mother died when Luz was only five years old. Her abuela taught Luz all about the monarch butterflies; how they are born, live and fly to Mexico every year.As Luz departs Milwaukee in an old, orange VW nicknamed El Toro, she begins an incredible journey. She is also under a time frame so she can arrive in Mexico along with the returning monarch butterflies. Along the way she encounters some amazing women who help guide her towards her destination.I loved that this book suggests that their is a reason about the people and situations that you may encounter. That life is not just a series of random coincidences. The book was very uplifting and full of hope. A great read. I have never read this author before, but want to check out her other books now.
    • 5/5
      Very informative as well as great read. Loved the butter&lies.
    • 4/5
      I started reading this book just as the monarch butterflies were showing up in my yard. It was perfect timing to read this book. Each chapter begins with a tidbit about the monarch butterflies life and journey to their winter home in Mexico. I found it very interesting as I watched the butterflies make a quick stop in my yard on what I imagine is part of that journey.At the same time Luz, the main character, is on a journey which coincides with the monarch butterflies journey. She is taking her grandmother's ashes to home in Mexico, which is where the butterflies are also heading. Luz meets some interesting characters along the way. Each plays a roll in Luz's growth and journey along the way as do the butterflies.I enjoyed this book and found the journey of the butterflies and Luz beautifully written. This was my first Mary Alice Monroe novel but won't be my last. She captured my attention with her wonderful details and great characters.
    • 3/5
      Definitely chick lit, this is a nice little story of Hispanic people who are so immersed in the life of the Monarch Butterfly that it is actually a part of their culture. "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." --Maya AngelouThey plant their gardens to attract the butterfly, gather their eggs and in aquariums, they watch the metamorphosis process. Then when the monarchs are ready they release them. It is a beautiful process and the grandmother teaches all of the neighborhood children these things."In all the world, no butterflies migrate like the monarchs of North America. Their migration is more the type we expect from birds or whales. However, unlike birds and whales that make the round-trip, it is the monarch's great-great-grandchildren that return south the following fall."Luz, a 21 year old who has been raised by her maternal grandmother is unknowingly ready for change. She and her 'Abuela' live in a Northern state and her grandma plans a trip for the two of them to go to Mexico to join the rest of the family for the celebration of The Day of The Dead. She purchases a little rusty orange V.W. bug, brings out what money she has saved for the trip and prepares herself and her young granddaughter to make the journey. But sadness strikes the household the day before the journey is to begin. Abuela passes away during the night. Luz is devastated but after the cremation decides to make the journey anyway to honor her Abuela and begins the trip. The little bug breaks down a couple of hours away from home and takes several days to wait for the part and be fixed. While she waits, Luz finds a temp job waiting tables at a Mexican restaurant where a very pregnant girl, Ophelia, works. Ophelia's boyfriend likes to get drunk and beat his girlfriend and when the car is ready she begs to be taken along. So the two girls continue on their trip. "Texas is the funnel through which most migrating monarchs must pass on their way to their overwintering grounds in Mexico. Texas is also the first stop on their northward journey, when they seek out both nectar and host plants for eggs for the next generation. Thus, Texas is of critical importance in the migration of the monarch butterfly."At a nursery where Ophelia, as a girl, worked alongside her aunt, they stop so that she can go to be with her aunt. Finding out that her aunt has remarried and moved away, the owner of the nursery who remembers Ophelia offers to let her stay and to see to her through the pregnancy and birth. Margaret, who works in the nursery office and at first appears to be a boring prude, ends up coming with Luz. Luz soon realizes that the girl has a background in natural history and wants to study the migration of the Monarch Butterfly. So off they go.The story gets better and more interesting as the journey continues. Luz gets to meet her huge maternal family and find out about her mother. She gets to travel and hike up to where millions of the Monarchs migrate to each and every year and have for eons."Female monarchs are capable of producing and laying more than five hundred eggs in a lifetime. The egg's expected survival rate is as low as 1 percent, which would mean only five of the five hundred eggs survive to become a butterfly."I liked this story. Not a great deal of depth to it but a very nice story nonetheless. And the material on the monarch butterfly is fascinating. I recommend it for a nice light read, for those interested in the monarch butterfly and it's migration and gave it 3 stars.
    • 4/5
      A voyage of self-discovery, The Butterfly’s Daughter is a beautiful story of family and friendship and the love and strength they inspire within us.Just as a butterfly grows and changes, so does the main character, Luz, as she travels south, along the Monarch’s migration route, with her grandmother’s ashes. With the help of her new friends, Luz makes it to her ancestral homeland and meets the family she never knew. The discovery of her real history is life changing; the last stage of her transformation. Wonderfully written by the best-selling author, Mary Alice Monroe, this book has an unforgettable feel to it. The characters are genuine, the settings are descriptive, the dialog is believable. The Butterfly’s Daughter is a pleasantly heartwarming, and surprisingly quick, read!
    • 4/5
      Great book about family, love, forgiveness and the Monarch butterfly.
    • 4/5
      This was an engaging story about four women and their journies. The story starts when Luz's grandmother passes away and she decides to journey to Mexico to take her ashes to celebrate the Day of the Dead (believed to be the day her spirit returns to her loved ones in the form of a Monarch Butterfly). Luz who was raised by her grandmother in the United States takes a journey in a beat up volkswagon from Minnesota to Mexico. Along the way, she meets other women and play a part in her journey and yet have their own journies as well. Overall an enjoyable read.