And then there are all of the books by Latin American authors marketed toward adults, etc. I also think David Levithan's BOY MEETS BOY counts as magical realism. Recommended for Fans Of.: Louis Sachar’s HOLES, BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, by Kate DiCamillo and pretty much anything Francesca Lia Block, as she tends to be the queen of YA magical realism. It's The Odyssey, with Mexican-American, female adventurers set against the background of a whole new land. these are colorful characters, crowding the stage, all waiting for their turn to speak or act. Let's not talk about the non-central characters - Papa - oy, he's a piece of work - Abuelita, the crazy cast of folk they meet throughout their quest. That makes them both funny and painful to watch - they're just like sisters I know. It's not easy leading this band of rag-tag survivors, because mostly they lead themselves, and don't listen to reason. And then there's Delia and Velia - a tight twin-team who speak with one - snarky - voice. She's a struggling eldest - barely older than the next in line, Juanita, who challenges her leadership at every turn. The cinco hermanitas are themselves a force, but the individual narrator is the eldest, Odilia.

But eventually, I let the mariposas take me.Ĭoncerning Character: Oy, are there characters.

I admit to being somewhat of an earth-bound reader sometimes. All the elements of a fable - including the lesson at the end - are lined up clearly for us to see. I believe that fairytales were the magical realism of their day - and this novel reads a little like a modern-day fairytale. That there's an element of the surreal as well as the supernatural. That anything can happen - and does, with fewer rules. You know what the line is for me? That faith and myth are given equal weight. It's misconstrued, generally, and people tend to think that any story which begins in the modern world is magical realism. Reader Gut Reaction: There are few examples of YA writing that include true magical realism.

I'd say SUMMER OF THE MARIPOSAS comes firmly under that definition. Borrowing from John Sayles' definition, magical realism is a writing approach rooted in the ordinary which blends the fantastic and the real, and the mythic with the specific to create something overall new and extraordinary. We also talked about how magical realism can be a vastly overused catchall category into which many books are crammed.

We talked a lot about the concept as defined by his work, and by the work of Latin American writers. When I studied the work of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in grad school, I heard the word 'magical realism' overwhelmingly.

Juanita summer of the mariposas