Summer of the Mariposas (review)

When the five Garza sisters discover a dead body floating in their swimming spot in the Rio Grande, oldest sibling Odilia wants to report their finding to the police. She’s quickly outvoted by the younger girls who decide that this is an opportunity to show their estranged father and distracted mother just what heroines the girls can be by returning the dead man to his family in Mexico. Unwilling to break the code of the cinco hermanitas, Odilia accedes, and the sisters’ journey across the Texas border enters fairy-tale territory as they escape witches, warlocks, bloodthirsty chupacabras, and nasty flesh-eating barn owls, all under the watchful eye of la Llorona, who guides the girls safely home. They return, however, to face a trial far less supernatural but just as emotionally devastating—their father has showed up with a new family in tow and a demand that the girls choose between their two parents. While the girls’ bickering gets annoying at times, narrator Odilia is a both endlessly exasperated and fiercely loyal older sister, and responsible siblings everywhere will relate to the feelings of power and resentment that her sense of obligation brings. Loosely based on the Odyssey, the journey adds interest by moving the girls through elements of Mexican folklore, and McCall’s revision of both la Llorona and the chupacabras as victims in need of sympathy and compassion is particularly compelling. The messages about strength of family are at times heavy handed, but the story remains powerful to the end. A glossary of Spanish words is included.