In addition to being a quest story, it is also a story about families and complicated relationships. Odilia is the narrator of the story, and Garcia McCall manages to be both lyrical in her descriptions while also capturing the voices of twenty-first century teenagers.

The five sisters have distinct personalities-Brave Odilia, headstrong Juanita, the twins Velia and Delia who are both bratty and trade on their beauty, and the naïve 10-year old Pita. The characters, even the magical ones, are real. Summer of the Mariposas is more than just a high concept work of fiction. Their adventures are thrilling, full of magic and sometimes quite funny. Along the way, they have many adventures, including run-ins with wily sorceresses, lechuzas (owl-women), evil warlocks and chupacabras (goat blood suckers). Since the girls have a grandmother who lives in Mexico, they decide to go visit her as well. She gives Odilia a pair of magic earrings that allow her to call on the magical intervention of Tonantzin, the sacred Aztec mother goddess, should they need it. Odilia, the eldest of the girls, has a vision of Llorona, the mythic weeping woman, who tells her that she and her sisters must return the man’s body to his family in Mexico. In a small Texas town, the 5 Garza sisters find a dead body floating in their summer watering hole. Garcia McCall has mixes Aztec and Mexican mythology with the ultimate quest story, The Odyssey and come up with a charming, richly layered YA novel. Syncretic religion mixes two separate religious traditions-say, Christianity with African Orisha worship-and combines them in a new way that honors both traditions.

Summer of mariposas book