Butterfly Summer
Becky isn't best pleased to be moved from her home in the city, where she has friends and a treasured bedroom, to the countryside where her mother grew up. There's a whole secret past that Becky feels on the verge of discovering – from friends that her mother never mentioned, who unintentionally drop hints about the father Becky has never met, to the photo she finds of her mother with a baby, dated 12 years before she was born. The path to uncovering the truth is a dangerous one.
When Becky's mother falls into depression, Becky is left to deal with her situation alone. Fortunately, she meets energetic, mysterious Rosa May who introduces her to the Butterfly Garden. Rosa May is everything to Becky, but she can be unpredictable and rather frightening, especially when Becky makes friends with a local boy, Mack.
The setting is beautifully crafted, with the hot, oppressive summer matching the tone of the story. Even the butterfly garden itself embodies the relationship between Becky and Rosa May.
The more serious themes, such as Becky's mother's depression, are dealt with sensitively but without sugar coating. Rosa May's changeable nature gave the story a real sense of danger and tension. It's really not the story of light and happiness, as suggested by the title, but a much weightier read that will give readers something to really think about.
Butterfly Summer is in a slightly younger age bracket to the books I usually read, yet I was pleasantly surprised to be completely swept up in the story from the first page. Any child who's moved home will relate to Becky and her struggle to settle into her new home.
