My Fate According to the Butterfly by Gail D. Villanueva

Zora has committed every inch of her life to establishing her thriving DC bookstore, making it into a pillar of the community, and she just hasn’t had time for romance. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage.

For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after-and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.īut when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. This Is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua Do you have a 2023 Filipino book release?Ģ023 Filipino Book Releases to Put On Your Radar.Lulu Sinagtala and the Tagalog Gods by Gail D.I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C.F.The Tale of the Gravemother by Rin Chupeco.I’m Not Supposed to Be in the Dark by Riss M.Zora Books Her Happy Ever After by Taj McCoy.Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto.The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi.This Is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua.2023 Filipino Book Releases to Put On Your Radar.Through Sab’s innocent eyes and own naivety, Villanueva delivers a moving story that is both incredibly bleak and cautiously hopeful. Her dissection of privilege, colorism, and colonial mentality is as unapologetic as her pride in Filipino cuisine. Villanueva proves to be an expert in thoughtfully portraying lived experiences and contemporary issues in a way that can be understood and appreciated by younger readers. Although Sab discovers difficult and dangerous truths, she also learns how to overcome her fears and to take fate into her own hands. Following a young superstitious girl who spots a black butterfly – an omen of death, according to Filipino superstition – and believes that she only has one week left to reunite her family, Villanueva’s debut novel delves into a larger narrative than Sab’s self-proclaimed doom: the terrifying government-sanctioned war on drugs in the Philippines.ĭespite its ominous premise, the story in My Fate According to the Butterfly is ultimately heartwarming. Unlike my first two middle-grade recommendations, this one’s a bit more harrowing.

My Fate According to the Butterfly by Gail D. Villanueva