Publishers Weekly
04/11/2022
Gout (Daniel X: Alien Hunter) and Aridjis (La Santa Muerte) spin a metaphysical fable, weighted down by heavy-handed messaging. Inés is turning 13, and her father gives her an obsidian necklace “radiating energy,” which has been in the family for generations. Wearing the stone transforms Inés into a monarch butterfly, and she is sent on a journey by an insect seer to join a local swarm in their migration to the butterfly sanctuary in Michoacán, Mexico (he intones: “On the day the souls of the dead return to visit the earth, there will be a final battle for which you were chosen at birth”). Using a monarch’s life cycle to frame a magical narrative, Inés encounters myriad challenges ranging from pesticides to crooked farmers to an ancestral enemy armed with a butterfly hunting hawk. In a culminating battle between man and insect, Inés accepts her role as “a daughter of the sun.” But while passionate emotions and themes of environmental advocacy buoy the story, the moral messages land as didactic (“She’d learned how to feed and sunbathe, but most importantly she’d learned about community.”) The messy, mixed-media art and hybrid of comics and picture-book format lends to the mythological quality, with bright colors and painterly composition. Though aimed at all ages, it’s most likely to appeal to junior readers. It’s preachy, but it still packs a lot of heart. Agent: Lisa Gallagher, DeFiore and Company. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
A work of art. In each of the pages, you will feel the flow of a powerful energy which will murmur to each of your cells that it is time to come out of hiding, to open the windows, to breathe freely, to dress colorfully… to fly.” — Laura Esquivel, author of Like Water for Chocolate
"In Monarca, Eva Aridjis and Leopoldo Gout sweep the reader away on a meaningful and magical journey of discovery and wonder. An epic story of personal transformation, bravery and learning to appreciate the fragile world around us. Monarca is a fable destined to be an instant classic and will resonate with readers of all ages. A dazzling must read." — Tonya Hurley - New York Times bestselling author of the ghostgirl series
“A magical tale about a magical being. Monarca creates an embodied kinship between humans and animals, showing us when culture and nature bow to one another, empathy can redress despair into devotion. This is a story of hope with wings.” — Terry Tempest Williams, author of Erosion
“A lovely book.” — Marlon James, Man Booker Prize winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings
Laura Esquivel
A work of art. In each of the pages, you will feel the flow of a powerful energy which will murmur to each of your cells that it is time to come out of hiding, to open the windows, to breathe freely, to dress colorfully… to fly.
Terry Tempest Williams
A magical tale about a magical being. Monarca creates an embodied kinship between humans and animals, showing us when culture and nature bow to one another, empathy can redress despair into devotion. This is a story of hope with wings.
Tonya Hurley - New York Times bestselling author of the ghostgirl series
"In Monarca, Eva Aridjis and Leopoldo Gout sweep the reader away on a meaningful and magical journey of discovery and wonder. An epic story of personal transformation, bravery and learning to appreciate the fragile world around us. Monarca is a fable destined to be an instant classic and will resonate with readers of all ages. A dazzling must read."
Marlon James
A lovely book.”
