How to use this Page

The rgz Street Team is a group of teens who bring YA reviews to our blog, led by Postergirl Miss Erin. Find out more.

Today, Sarah reviews The Sweetness of Salt by Cecilia Galante:

From the publisher: Julia just graduated as her high school valedictorian, has a full ride to college in the fall and a coveted summer internship clerking for a federal judge. But when her older sister, Sophie, shows up at the graduation determined to reveal some long buried secrets, Julia's carefully constructed plans come to a halt. Instead of the summer she had painstakingly laid out, Julia follows Sophie back to Vermont, where Sophie is opening a bakery—and struggling with some secrets of her own. What follows is a summer of revelations—some heartwarming, some heartbreaking, and all slowly pointing Julia toward a new understanding of both herself and of the sister she never really knew.

Add a Comment

As soon as I read Jen Robinson's review of Cecilia Galante's The Patron Saint of Butterflies, I knew I had to read it. I requested it from my library, picked it up on Saturday, and read it in one day. It was that good.

The book is told in alternating chapters by 14-year-old best friends Agnes and Honey who have spent their entire lives in Mount Blessing, a religious commune in Connecticut. Separated from the outside world, the girls have lived under the stringent rules of Emmanuel, the commune's abusive leader, who professes to be a healer and likens himself to Jesus.

Agnes is a "true believer" and aspires to be a saint. She believes every word Emmanuel tells her, frequently fasts, and even tightly ties a rope around her waist to remind her of her sinful ways. Honey, on the other hand, is a skeptic. Her mother left Honey behind at the commune when she was just an infant, and she's always felt like an outsider. She's also seen a bit of the outside world through a forbidden TV and secret visits to a neighboring farm.

When Agnes' grandmother Nana Pete comes for a surprise visit, she discovers the two girls have recently been beaten in the commune's secret "Regulation Room," and decides that she must take the girls and Agnes' younger brother Benny away at once. Well, imagine taking a true believer out of the only world she has ever known. There's bound to be a bit of conflict and self-discovery, and in the end, Agnes must be braver than she's ever been to do what she believes is right.

Even though I predicted the "surprise revelation" at the end of book early on, I thoroughly enjoyed The Patron Saint of Butterflies and think it would be a thought-provoking read for teenage girls who are at that age struggling with self-identify, friendships, and more. It's very difficult to pull of multiple narrators in a book, but Cecilia Galante brilliantly executed it. There was never a question as to who was speaking as each girl had a distinct voice. The characters were also well developed and very believable.

Their reactions to situations in the book are fitting for their age, and I especially thought that Galante did an exceptional job at capturing Agnes' emotions as she struggles with the fact that maybe Emmanuel is not the perfect god-like human she previously thought him to be. Take this passage when Nana Pete escapes with the children and takes young Benny to the hospital after he severs his fingers in a door and Emmanuel claims to have healed him:

"'I'm going to have to undo everything that Emmanuel guy did,' he [the ER doctor] says, talking directly to Nana Pete. 'And then I will try to salvage what is left and reattach those fingers the right way.' He grimaces. 'It's going to be a complicated surgery...'

...

'Wait!' I plead, rushing out into the hall.

...

'Emmanuel didn't heal him? There was no miracle?'

Dr. Panetta gazes curiously at me for a long moment. His eyes are gray with little specks of blue in them. 'No,' he says gently. 'There was no miracle.'

And then he is gone. The two words reverberate through my head.

No miracle. No miracle. No miracle.

Behind me, Honey's hand descends lightly on my shoulder. It feels like a thousand pounds.

'Don't touch me,' I say, shrugging her off. 'I mean it. Don't touch me.' " (pages 125-126)

I was equally impressed that despite some intense, emotional, and dark moments, the book doesn't come across as preachy. I don't think it's a book that seeks to tell you about the "unknown horrors" of religious communes even given the fact that Galante lived in one until she was fifteen. Instead, it's about the test of friendship, the journey of self-discovery, and the personal quest to discover what "good" is.

A book that is sure to spark discussion, I highly recommend it and look forward to reading more of Galante's work.


What Other Bloggers Are Saying:


Jen Robinson's Book Page: "The genius of this book is Galante's telling of the story from both Agnes and Honey's perspectives. Each girl's personality comes through clearly, and together they give the reader a full perspective on life in this repressive religious commune." (read more...)

A big thanks to Jen for the links to other reviews:

Feminist Review: "The Patron Saint of Butterflies is a heartfelt story of self-discovery. It showcases strong female characters who represent the power and importance of independent thinking." (read more...)

Miss Erin: "Completely fantastic. It's really dark in spots, but beautiful, like a butterfly. How in the world did the author pull this book off?" (read more...)

Becky's Book Reviews: "The book is intense and powerful and well written." (read more...)

Pixie Stix Kids Pix: "There were a couple of harrowing moments in the reading where I was so emotionally invested that I had a hard time remembering that I was not actually in the book." (read more...)

The Reading Zone: "I loved this book and recommend it for anyone interested in faith, religions, growing up, and the current events taking place with the polygamists in Texas. A great book for book clubs! I can also see this being used in the classroom because it would spark some great discussions!" (read more...)

In the Pages: " Great novel - deals heavily with the power of friendship, faith, and the true meaning of love for each other." (read more...)


Abby the Librarian: "Besides the intriguing characters, the writing made me feel like I was there. When Honey was working in the butterfly garden at the commune, I could feel the sun on my face and smell the fresh earth all around me." (read more...)

Sarah Miller: "This may be a book with something to say something about religion, but Cecilia Galante is smart enough not to turn her story into a pulpit. The plot is quick and intense, and the writing vivid enough that after Honey tasted her fist Big Mac, I just had to do the same." (read more...)

Reader Rabbit: "When reading the Patron Saint of Butterflies, I was entranced and devoured the book all in one go. The plot was hard-hitting and truthful and the author’s voice never turned "preachy." (read more...)



More info:

• Reading Level: Young adult
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books; 1st edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599902494
• ISBN-13: 978-1599902494
• Source: Library
  

Display Comments Add a Comment

Cecilia Galante, author of The Patron Saint of Butterflies and Hershey Herself, has a question about her work in progress. She says, "I'm working on my next novel and am really curious as to how teenagers would answer this question: The thing I am most afraid of doing is ______________________."

You can leave your answer in the comments, or you can email your answer to Cecilia at [email protected].

Display Comments Add a Comment

by Cecilia Galante

Description from publisher: 'When twelve-year-old Hershey must run away with her mother to a women's shelter, she wonders how, among other things, she'll compete in the town talent show with her best friend, Phoebe; who will take care of her cat, Augustus Gloop; and if she'll survive being on a new bus route with her sworn enemy.'

Hershey Herself was a slower, quieter book than the author's other novel, The Patron Saint of Butterflies. It took me a little while to get into it, maybe because I was expecting a stunning bang! like that book. The pace wasn't as tight, nor the writing, but it was still quite good. I think it can be best described as a soulful story. It had heart, and lots of soft beauty. It, also, is dark in its own way (the cover makes it look like tween fluff, which it's definitely not). There were surprising moments of truth and clarity that drew me in. All the characters seemed like very real, down-to-earth people: familiar and quirky. (I really liked Josie, with her singing dreams and t-shirts with slogans such as "PSYCHO, BUT CUTE. THINGS EVEN OUT.")

A couple of my favorite quotes from the book, that will hopefully persuade you to read it, too:

"Look, I'm not going to start preaching to you or nothing here, girl. But you better believe . . . " She stops here to point a cherry red fingernail at me. "You better believe God's given you something special. And the only thing he asks for when he gives you something is for you to use it."

and

"There is always a way," Lupe says, "if you want it enough."

Display Comments Add a Comment

I am so happy to be presenting to you my first ever guest post by an author. Cecilia Galante is the author of the extraordinary The Patron Saint of Butterflies as well as Hershey Herself (which I have on hold at my library and can't wait to read). You can visit Cecilia online at her website. Here is her thoughtful post on writing, which I believe artists of any kind will be able to relate to. (For instance, as a writer and an actress, I could definitely empathize with what she said.) Enjoy!

I was thrilled when the Divine Miss E. asked me to write a little something for her wonderful website, since (a) It’s an honor to be a part of such a well-read, illustrious group of book-lovers and (b) I’m having a heck of a time right now working on another book of mine and the diversion is most welcome. (Plus, it might even kick-start an idea or two in the back of this head of mine.)
So.
Writing.
The most wonderful and agonizing times in my life have been spent writing. After ten years of writing, rewriting, licking oh, maybe 400 envelopes and mailing them to agents and publishers and editors, and getting maybe oh, 375 (very nice) rejections, and then, finally, one magical day, getting THE call, I am living my dream. I have two published young-adult novels out right now (The Patron Saint of Butterflies and Hershey Herself) and have just signed a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster. So why am I gripped every once in awhile (okay, every hour or so) with a sudden and paralyzing fear? Why, after finally “crossing that line,” do I still feel that I have so much farther to go? And why does that frighten me so much?
One of the most incredible things about writing for me is sitting down with just a tiny idea in my head – a girl’s face perhaps, or a picture of a winding, pine-needled path in the middle of a forest – and then watching that single idea take shape and blossom into something else. Ideas lead to other ideas which lead to formations of plot and character and all that other good stuff. And I think that one of the things that scares me so much is that I’m never really sure that the image I sit down with is actually going to lead me further. I have this mean little voice in the back of my head that yammers on and on....”Who do you think you are? You really think you can do this? That idea blows. It is so stupid. Just give up, turn the computer off and go join the circus.”
Seriously. My head does that to me all the time. And I guess that’s where the fear comes from. Am I the only one, or do we all have a fear of not being enough? Of not “reaching the top.” Of not “winning.” Whatever it is. It can be paralyzing, right? It can make you abandon your dreams, your work, even yourself.
If you let it.
Here’s the thing. And I’ve just realized it now, by writing this piece.
DO IT ANYWAY.
Sit down scared. Sit down with the yammering voice in the back of your head that says you can’t do it. Turn on the computer. Summon the tiny picture in the back of your brain. Start typing, even though the mean little voice may get louder. Keep going, even if it says it’s all crap, you’re wasting your time, you’re nothing. Turn on some music that you like. Keep typing. Close your eyes if you have to, so that the picture doesn’t disappear. Keep typing. Sit back after awhile and stare at the paragraph – or two, or three – that you have just written. Wipe the sweat off your brow.
Relish the silence in your head.
Feel the absence of fear.

Display Comments Add a Comment