My Fate According to the Butterfly

by Gail Villanueva

Overview

* "Villanueva's debut is a beautiful #ownvoices middle-grade novel. Tough topics are addressed, but warmth and humor... bring lightness to Sab's story. This immersive novel bursts with life." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

When superstitious Sab sees a giant black butterfly, an omen of death, she knows that she's doomed! According to legend, she has one week before her fate catches up with her -- on her 11th birthday. With her time running out, all she wants is to celebrate her birthday with her entire family. But her sister, Ate Nadine, stopped speaking to their father one year ago, and Sab doesn't even know why.

If Sab's going to get Ate Nadine and their father to reconcile, she'll have to overcome her fears -- of her sister's anger, of leaving the bubble of her sheltered community, of her upcoming doom -- and figure out the cause of their rift.

So Sab and her best friend Pepper start spying on Nadine and digging into their family's past to determine why, exactly, Nadine won't speak to their father. But Sab's adventures across Manila reveal truths about her family more difficult -- and dangerous -- than she ever anticipated.

Was the Butterfly right? Perhaps Sab is doomed after all!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338310504
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/30/2019
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	554,731
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gail D. Villanueva is a Filipina author born and based in the Philippines. She's also a web designer, an entrepreneur, and a graphic artist. She loves pineapple pizza, seafood, and chocolate, but not in a single dish together (eww). Gail and her husband live in the outskirts of Manila with their dogs, ducks, turtles, cats, and one friendly but lonesome chicken. Her debut novel, My Fate According to the Butterfly, was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews.

Read an Excerpt

“What do you want to do for your birthday, anyway? We can start planning it now!” My best friend, Pepper, kicks at the ground and swings, her brown hair trailing behind her.

My hand reaches for the locket on my chest as I start to answer Pepper, but I grasp air instead. I never take the locket off except to shower—I can't believe I forgot to put it back on this morning. It was from Dad. Unlike Ate Nadine, I value his gifts and actually use them. I let out a long sigh. "Birthday brunch at Lola Cordia's Garden Resort would be great."

Pepper stops swinging. "Your dead grandma's resort? The one your papa inherited?"

"Yeah." I wince. Maybe it's a cultural thing, that Pepper's more blunt and honest than any of my Filipino classmates. So, I just try to understand her.

"Your papa's there. And Wendell. Ate Nadine–"

"I know." I follow her lead and slow down my swing. Ate Nadine would rather drop dead than spend a second in Dad's company. But Pepper's brilliant. Nothing is impossible with her. "Can you come up with a plan to make it happen?"

"That's a tall order, Sab. Your sister's really stubborn." Pepper takes a lock of her hair and twirls it around a finger. "Don't worry. I'll think of something."

Great.

Pepper's biting her lower lip. I don't see her do that often, but when I do, it worries me. Because it almost always means she's worried too.

I force myself to smile as my sister heads our way. If Pepper isn't sure she can come up with a plan, I might as well accept this birthday reunion isn't happening. Ate Nadine will never speak to Dad, and it's just the way it is.

Editorial Reviews

05/13/2019

Superstitious Sab, a 10-year-old Filipina girl, has always believed her father’s story that a visit from a black butterfly is a harbinger of personal or familial doom. And when the otherworldly butterfly lands on her prized locket one week before her birthday, she begins preparing for her inevitable death. With only a week left to live, Sab enlists the help of her American best friend to mend the rift between her father and her sister, Ate Nadine, who have been estranged since her father’s mysterious stay in a hospital. Chaperoned by Nadine, Sab’s quest for knowledge about her dad brings her deep into Manila, where she learns difficult truths about him and the world in which she lives, such as the government’s brutal crackdown on drug dealers. Debut author Villanueva deftly incorporates a touch of the magical alongside vibrant details about contemporary Filipino life (jeepneys, cheese-flavored ice cream) and a universal story about growing up, reconciliation, and family. Ages 8–12. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (July)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2019

Gr 4–6—Sab's 11th birthday is approaching, but when she sees a black butterfly, she is afraid that she will die before then, since her father told her that the creature is a harbinger of death. She would like to spend her birthday with her father and Tito Wendell at the resort her grandmother ran before her death, but her sister Nadine has not spoken to her father in more than a year. Nadine is a journalism major in college and is working on a story about drug use in their neighborhood in Manila, the Philippines. Sab decides to investigate the cause of the rift and finds a friend of her father's from college. Sab begins reexamining things she already knew, which leads to the realization that her father was a drug addict. Sab is able to celebrate her birthday with the people she loves, and her awareness of her father's situation helps to bring the family back together. Told in simple, easily understood language, this novel combines elements of the mundane with a timely story about how drug use and other issues can affect families. VERDICT A gentle title that skillfully addresses difficult issues of drug addiction and family tension from the perspective of a young girl. For those who appreciated Marie Miranda Cruz's Everlasting Nora, Padma Venkatraman's The Bridge Home, or Erin Entrada Kelly's The Land of Forgotten Girls.—Karen Yingling, Blendon Middle School, Westerville, OH

School Library Journal

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2019
An Amazon Best Book of the Month Editor's Pick
NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People

"Superstition, family, and friendship are the hallmarks of this remarkable debut. I adore Sab -- and readers will, too." -- Erin Entrada Kelly, Newbery Award-winning author of Hello, Universe

"Gail Villanueva's debut novel captures all the richness of the Philippines, the heart-pounding thrills of a great mystery, and the warmth and wonder of growing up." -- Kate Messner, author of The Seventh Wish and Breakout

"At once rich in the vibrant culture of the Philippines and universal in its focus on family and forgiveness, My Fate According to the Butterfly is a soaring tale of hope that will be sure to touch the hearts of all young readers." -- Ruth Behar, Pura Belpré Award-winning author of Lucky Broken Girl

* "Villanueva's debut is a beautiful #ownvoices middle-grade novel. Tough topics -- the brutal war on drugs in the Philippines, family reconciliation, and recovery -- are addressed, but warmth and humor... bring lightness to Sab's story. This immersive novel bursts with life." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Debut author Villanueva deftly incorporates a touch of the magical alongside vibrant details about contemporary Filipino life and a universal story about growing up, reconciliation, and family." -- Publishers Weekly

"A gentle title that skillfully addresses difficult issues of drug addiction and family tension from the perspective of a young girl." -- School Library Journal

From the Publisher

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