Summer of the Mariposas Audiobook By Guadalupe Garcia McCall cover art

Summer of the Mariposas

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Summer of the Mariposas

By: Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
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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 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?

©2015 Guadalupe Garcia McCall (P)2020 Listening Library Fantasy Science Fiction & Fantasy
Rich Cultural Traditions • Exciting Adventure • Talented Narrator • Beautiful Sisterhood • Women Empowerment
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My niece had to read this for her Spanish class so I decided to check it out! It was a great story full of love hope and adventure

Great story

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This is a beautiful story of sisterhood and coming of age. I loved it! I will never forget the journey of the Garza Girls.
The performance, however, is not great. The voice sounded almost robotic. It felt cold and inauthentic.

Beautiful Story

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I loved this book and I would recommend it to everyone but it was predictable.

Great book

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I think this book is such a great book to show heroism and women power. I love how each girl finds themself in the end! Great book overall but it does have a slow start but keep reading because it gets amazing later 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

I love the voices and the characters personality

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It was a good story. It kept me hooked in between the chapters. I didn’t get the titles meanings but the story plot was pretty interesting. It was good, but not the best story I ever read you know?

From a 13year old pov

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Loved every moment, and the relationship between the sisters. I was not expecting the ending. Must read!

Fantastic

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This was my grandson's reading assignment, and I decided to listen to the back so that we could discuss it. Each day for the past week, on my way to and from work, I listened to this memorizing story unfold. I plan to listen to it again, and this time, it will be for my personal enjoyment. I would recommend this story to any adult who likes intrigue and adventure!

The story line, each new adventure was Amazing!!!

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As a teacher, I loved the rich vocabulary, metaphors, and the complexity of this text. This book could be used to teach so many language comprehension strands in your classroom. The story line is rigorous, exciting and filled with so much adventure that you can’t wait to hear what comes next! Even though the main characters are five sisters, boys will definitely get hooked on this book! I would imagine even reluctant readers finding this to be a book they would enjoy. I highly recommend this read!

The only thing to caution, depending on you child or students, is that they mention that Santa Clause is not real. With the age level you would use this book for, this most likely won’t be a problem. However, If you have a younger child with a high reading ability that picks this up, just know that this in there.

Amazing Read!

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After reading Summer of the Mariposas, I can confidently say that this book was not worth the time it takes to get through it. While the story attempts to blend Mexican folklore with cultural depth and family dynamics, the execution falls short in several areas, making it difficult to follow and even harder to enjoy.

Yes, the book does offer a window into rich cultural traditions and includes a variety of mythical elements that might initially seem engaging. However, it quickly becomes clear that this is not a book appropriate for readers under 13. Despite its placement in some middle-grade curriculums, the content leans heavily toward upper middle school or high school audiences—and even then, many of the themes are questionable.

Throughout the story, readers are confronted with mature and inappropriate topics such as prostitution, drug lords, smoking, underage drinking, stealing a car, deception toward parents, and even abandoning younger siblings on a roadside. These are not isolated mentions—they are recurring and woven into the plot in a way that seems careless and not developmentally appropriate for the target age group. The moral ambiguity presented in many of the characters’ decisions sends mixed messages that I wouldn’t want to promote in my own classroom.

Additionally, the pacing of the book is jarring. The plot jumps around with little cohesion, making it difficult to stay connected to the narrative or care deeply about the characters. The blend of fantastical and realistic elements feels disjointed rather than imaginative, and the storytelling overall comes off as dry and confusing.

Most disappointingly, the ending was incredibly underwhelming. After pushing through the tangled plot and questionable choices, there was no strong payoff or satisfying resolution. It left me feeling like the time invested in the story had no real reward.

Though this novel is currently part of the curriculum, I will not be using it in my classroom. I believe students deserve stories that not only reflect diverse cultures and experiences but also support healthy moral reasoning and age-appropriate content. I plan to replace this title with something more suitable, engaging, and meaningful for my students.

Not worth my time! 👎🏻

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This story would have been better if it finished after they returned the body to his family. instead, the whole tone of the book changes and the Garza Girls go on a magical adventure. Every problem is solved by wishing on a magic earring. The ten-year-old whines like a toddler. The girls make bad decision after bad decision, then wish themselves out of the consequences. I had high hopes for this book.

zero consequences

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