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Viví en el cerro Mariposa (I Lived on Butterfly Hill) (The Butterfly Hill Series)
Now available in Spanish!
An eleven-year-old’s world is upended by political turmoil in this “lyrically ambitious tale of exile and reunification” (Kirkus Reviews) from an award-winning poet, based on true events in Chile.
Celeste Marconi is a dreamer. She lives peacefully among friends and neighbors and family in the idyllic town of Valparaiso, Chile—until one day when warships are spotted in the harbor and schoolmates start disappearing from class without a word. Celeste doesn’t quite know what is happening, but one thing is clear: no one is safe, not anymore.
The country has been taken over by a government that declares artists, protestors, and anyone who helps the needy to be considered “subversive” and dangerous to Chile’s future. So Celeste’s parents—her educated, generous, kind parents—must go into hiding before they, too, “disappear.” Before they do, however, they send Celeste to America to protect her.
As Celeste adapts to her new life in Maine, she never stops dreaming of Chile. But even after democracy is restored to her home country, questions remain: Will her parents reemerge from hiding? Will she ever be truly safe again?
Accented with interior artwork, steeped in the history of Pinochet’s catastrophic takeover of Chile, and based on many true events, this multicultural ode to the power of revolution, words, and love is both indelibly brave and heart-wrenchingly graceful.
An eleven-year-old’s world is upended by political turmoil in this “lyrically ambitious tale of exile and reunification” (Kirkus Reviews) from an award-winning poet, based on true events in Chile.
Celeste Marconi is a dreamer. She lives peacefully among friends and neighbors and family in the idyllic town of Valparaiso, Chile—until one day when warships are spotted in the harbor and schoolmates start disappearing from class without a word. Celeste doesn’t quite know what is happening, but one thing is clear: no one is safe, not anymore.
The country has been taken over by a government that declares artists, protestors, and anyone who helps the needy to be considered “subversive” and dangerous to Chile’s future. So Celeste’s parents—her educated, generous, kind parents—must go into hiding before they, too, “disappear.” Before they do, however, they send Celeste to America to protect her.
As Celeste adapts to her new life in Maine, she never stops dreaming of Chile. But even after democracy is restored to her home country, questions remain: Will her parents reemerge from hiding? Will she ever be truly safe again?
Accented with interior artwork, steeped in the history of Pinochet’s catastrophic takeover of Chile, and based on many true events, this multicultural ode to the power of revolution, words, and love is both indelibly brave and heart-wrenchingly graceful.
512 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2014
162 people are currently reading
2942 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie Agosín
125 books75 followersMarjorie Agosín was born in Maryland and raised in Chile. She and her parents, Moises and Frida Agosín, moved to the United States due to the overthrow of the Chilean government by General Pinochet's military coup. Coming from a South American country and being Jewish, Agosín's writings demonstrate a unique blending of these cultures.
Agosín is well known as a poet, critic, and human activist. She is also a well-known spokesperson for the plight and priorities of women in Third World countries. Her deep social concerns and accomplishments have earned her many awards and recognitions, and she has gained an international reputation among contemporary women of color.
Agosín, a passionate writer, has received critical acclaim for her poetry collections, her close reflections on her parents and family, and her multi-layered stories. Within every novel, story, or poem, she captures the very essence of Jewish women at their best. Agosín's works reveal the experiences of pain and anguish of Jewish refugees. She writes about the Holocaust as well as anti-Semitic events that occurred in her native land.
Agosín has many fascinating works and is recognized in both North and South America as one of the most versatile and provocative Latin American writers. Agosín became a writer to make a difference: "I wanted to change the world through peace and beauty," she said. Today she is not only a writer, but also a Spanish professor at Wellesley College.
Agosín is well known as a poet, critic, and human activist. She is also a well-known spokesperson for the plight and priorities of women in Third World countries. Her deep social concerns and accomplishments have earned her many awards and recognitions, and she has gained an international reputation among contemporary women of color.
Agosín, a passionate writer, has received critical acclaim for her poetry collections, her close reflections on her parents and family, and her multi-layered stories. Within every novel, story, or poem, she captures the very essence of Jewish women at their best. Agosín's works reveal the experiences of pain and anguish of Jewish refugees. She writes about the Holocaust as well as anti-Semitic events that occurred in her native land.
Agosín has many fascinating works and is recognized in both North and South America as one of the most versatile and provocative Latin American writers. Agosín became a writer to make a difference: "I wanted to change the world through peace and beauty," she said. Today she is not only a writer, but also a Spanish professor at Wellesley College.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 425 reviews
May 28, 2014
A historical novel about a girl who must flee Chile after the military coup in the 1970s, comes to America, and then returns to her homeland after several years.
I have mixed feelings about this novel, which is by an old friend, Marjorie Agosin, who was my Chile advisor on Weavings of War, a textile exhibition that I curated. On the one hand, Marjorie is an incredible writer; as always, she describes the extremes of human experience with enormous beauty, clarity, and sensitivity. For example, just before the young heroine must leave her home:
“I know it is time to go. My hands tremble as I slip back into my blue bedroom. My throat tightens, but I hold back my tears so I can take one last good look…’Tears should be saved for happiness,’ I repeat Abuela Frida’s words to myself. I remember hearing them so often as a little girl when I would trip and fall or spill my ice cream in the grass…. Maybe if I save my tears, happiness will follow?”
Marjorie has a great story to tell--exile, immigration, return, political action, and finally redemption—and since she lived through it herself, she brings it to life in every detail. Also the novel covers a real gap in middle grade fiction: the coup in Chile. (If there are any others set in that time and place, I haven’t found them.)
My problem with the book is structural; it feels like two novels to me. There should have been a first novel about exile and immigration, and then a sequel, about return and redemption. That would also help with the length; it’s 456 pages which is a stretch for a middle grade novel with a leisurely pace.
But the book is still well worth recommending, especially to kids who love historical novels, or are going through immigration, or to teachers, especially with the new Common Core Curriculum. If I were still teaching I would split it up and use part of it for a unit on exile and immigration (maybe paired with Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and The Whispering Cloth by Pegi Deitz Shea ) and then the last half for a unit on political activism (paired with The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis and Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes).
I have mixed feelings about this novel, which is by an old friend, Marjorie Agosin, who was my Chile advisor on Weavings of War, a textile exhibition that I curated. On the one hand, Marjorie is an incredible writer; as always, she describes the extremes of human experience with enormous beauty, clarity, and sensitivity. For example, just before the young heroine must leave her home:
“I know it is time to go. My hands tremble as I slip back into my blue bedroom. My throat tightens, but I hold back my tears so I can take one last good look…’Tears should be saved for happiness,’ I repeat Abuela Frida’s words to myself. I remember hearing them so often as a little girl when I would trip and fall or spill my ice cream in the grass…. Maybe if I save my tears, happiness will follow?”
Marjorie has a great story to tell--exile, immigration, return, political action, and finally redemption—and since she lived through it herself, she brings it to life in every detail. Also the novel covers a real gap in middle grade fiction: the coup in Chile. (If there are any others set in that time and place, I haven’t found them.)
My problem with the book is structural; it feels like two novels to me. There should have been a first novel about exile and immigration, and then a sequel, about return and redemption. That would also help with the length; it’s 456 pages which is a stretch for a middle grade novel with a leisurely pace.
But the book is still well worth recommending, especially to kids who love historical novels, or are going through immigration, or to teachers, especially with the new Common Core Curriculum. If I were still teaching I would split it up and use part of it for a unit on exile and immigration (maybe paired with Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and The Whispering Cloth by Pegi Deitz Shea ) and then the last half for a unit on political activism (paired with The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis and Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes).
April 18, 2015
(4.0) stars beautifully written but my desire for accurate history trumps this (3.5 stars). At the very least she ought to have written an afterward, explaining what really occurred in Chile during this time. It's a good selection for making social studies (dictatorships, military coups, immigrant issues) 5-8 grade curriculum connections, but it's a long book, best for serious readers. I love how it celebrates Chile's poetry, Valparaiso foods & culture, the magical realism of Cristobal. I'd really like to visit the hills there and smell the sea air.
March 21, 2023
This is the type of story that we need in our school curriculum - a moving story about a teenager who makes a difference!
We will be arriving in San Antonio, Chile tomorrow and our shore excursion will take us to the idyllic town of Valparaiso, the setting of this award winning YA novel. Butterfly Hill is one of forty-two hills that make up the city of Valparaiso on Chile’s coast.
When the story, based on real history, opens, we meet a Grade 6 girl, Celeste, whose life changes when her country is taken over by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The Marconi family’s excitement at President Alarcon’s election is short lived. He’s overthrown and killed and replaced by Pinochet. (FYI: Pinochet ruled for 16 years between 1973 - 1990 and was known for his human rights violations.) Celeste notices that people suddenly disappear; some are forced into hiding and some are forcibly taken. Her parents, both doctors, explain that the new government has a zero tolerance level for ‘subversives,’ anyone who helps the needy, or protestors or artists. To ensure her safety, her parents send Celeste to her flighty aunt, Tia Graciela, in Maine. Two years later, when democracy is restored, Celeste returns, anxious to find her parents and help her country. Will she find them? Will she ever feel safe again?
I was shocked to read about the far reaches of Pinochet’s rule - even in the classroom!
I loved the semblance of ‘family’ and their singular outlook. The plot benefitted from Abuela Frida (grandma who escaped Nazis) and the housekeeper, Delfina.
I also appreciated the inclusion of Celeste’s time in Maine because many pre-teens do suffer from homesickness (perhaps not from moving internationally, but simply from being separated from family due to divorce/sleepovers, etc.) and are now noticing how many students from other countries are attending their school. This would make a good stepping stone to open discussion.
The author explores totalitarianism, solidarity, magic/mysticism, homesickness, and family, then finishes with a strengthened protagonist who has grown into a compassionate teenager who wants to rebuild her country.
This novel stands out mainly because of its uniqueness, but also because of the positive message and the positive role model.
We will be arriving in San Antonio, Chile tomorrow and our shore excursion will take us to the idyllic town of Valparaiso, the setting of this award winning YA novel. Butterfly Hill is one of forty-two hills that make up the city of Valparaiso on Chile’s coast.
When the story, based on real history, opens, we meet a Grade 6 girl, Celeste, whose life changes when her country is taken over by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The Marconi family’s excitement at President Alarcon’s election is short lived. He’s overthrown and killed and replaced by Pinochet. (FYI: Pinochet ruled for 16 years between 1973 - 1990 and was known for his human rights violations.) Celeste notices that people suddenly disappear; some are forced into hiding and some are forcibly taken. Her parents, both doctors, explain that the new government has a zero tolerance level for ‘subversives,’ anyone who helps the needy, or protestors or artists. To ensure her safety, her parents send Celeste to her flighty aunt, Tia Graciela, in Maine. Two years later, when democracy is restored, Celeste returns, anxious to find her parents and help her country. Will she find them? Will she ever feel safe again?
I was shocked to read about the far reaches of Pinochet’s rule - even in the classroom!
I loved the semblance of ‘family’ and their singular outlook. The plot benefitted from Abuela Frida (grandma who escaped Nazis) and the housekeeper, Delfina.
I also appreciated the inclusion of Celeste’s time in Maine because many pre-teens do suffer from homesickness (perhaps not from moving internationally, but simply from being separated from family due to divorce/sleepovers, etc.) and are now noticing how many students from other countries are attending their school. This would make a good stepping stone to open discussion.
The author explores totalitarianism, solidarity, magic/mysticism, homesickness, and family, then finishes with a strengthened protagonist who has grown into a compassionate teenager who wants to rebuild her country.
This novel stands out mainly because of its uniqueness, but also because of the positive message and the positive role model.
February 16, 2015
This is a book I think I should have liked more than I did. In some ways, I loved it--the lyrical story based on the author's own experience of growing up in Chile with neighbors she loves and a warm bubbling house with caring parents when there is a political coup. People start disappearing, her parents have to go into hiding, and she is sent to Maine to live with her aunt until it blows over. She is a writer at heart and is constantly noting things about her life. What I liked: the setting (I want to travel to Valparaiso, Chile now!) and her voice. A few things made me not like this book as much as I could have, though. The historical timeline and names in Chile are not true. The book is historical-ish as a result, which was unfortunate because I would venture to guess that not many middle schoolers know much about Chile and might assume they learned some things from reading this about Chile that just aren't true. It's vaguely referencing the Pinochet regime, but the names are different, the regime only lasts 2 years instead of 17, the "General" is killed after 2 years as opposed to Pinochet who died of a heart attack or something. It's a strange decision for me. Another thing is that this book is long and meandering, so I have trouble thinking of the right audience for this book. There's a little magical realism, which worked for me, especially given other Latin-American writers.
October 24, 2015
This book about life in Valparaiso, Chile before, during and after the military coup is written for 10-14 year olds. This is tricky ground. How can an author portray violent events in a measured way. The author fictionalizes events to an extent that the book is not historical fiction. The president of Chile who dies at the beginning of the coup is renamed, and the General behind the coup is referred to as the Dictator. The main character, Celeste, is 11 years old, and live on top of one of Valparaiso's many hills with her parents, who are doctors, her grandmother, an Austrian Jewish World War II refugee, and her nanny housekeeper, a Mapuche Indian. As the coup progresses, Celeste is sent to Maine to live with her aunt and her parents go into hiding. In this novel, the timeline of historical events is greatly shortened and altered. There is a bit of magical realism thrown in at the end, but perhaps even Celeste's escape to Maine is magical realism. How does an 11-year-old girl fly to the United States during a coup, gain entrance to the country and attend school with an aunt her supports herself as a tarot card reader? Her stay in Maine does provide readers an opportunity to consider the lives of refugee children. Celeste befriends a brother and sister from Korea in her school, also refugees, it seems (though unexplained).
What I appreciated the most were the details of life in Valparaiso, Chilean culture, and constant references to one of my favorite poets Pablo Neruda. Agosín and her family moved to the US just before the Chilean coup. Like Celeste, her family is Jewish. I imagine she chose Valparaiso as a setting because the port was the staging ground for Naval battleships, and because Valparaiso is a beautiful city, and a Unesco World Heritage site.
What I appreciated the most were the details of life in Valparaiso, Chilean culture, and constant references to one of my favorite poets Pablo Neruda. Agosín and her family moved to the US just before the Chilean coup. Like Celeste, her family is Jewish. I imagine she chose Valparaiso as a setting because the port was the staging ground for Naval battleships, and because Valparaiso is a beautiful city, and a Unesco World Heritage site.
May 17, 2016
A beautiful story full of truth and heart. I often learn the most from fiction and this has taught me much about the history of Chile as well as strength and courage.
May 27, 2015
Told from the viewpoint of 10-year-old, Celeste Marconi, this tale is set in Chile during the 1970s and based on the true story of the assassination of a Socialist president and rise of a dictator. Celeste's parents are doctors with a clinic that serves poor people in Valparaiso. When a coup occurs, soldiers take over the city and her school. People start to disappear including teachers, artists, and anyone that supported the previous president. As fear descends over the city like the constant fog from the harbor, Celeste's parents go into hiding. Celeste lives in her home with her grandma and nana. When the soldiers at school hit her friends and neighbors start to go missing, she is sent to live with an aunt in Maine where she starts a new life.
When the dictator loses power after two long years, Celeste goes back to her country to find that much has changed from the hardships and persecution. She is determined to find her parents while the adults in her life caution her against asking questions. Fear is still dominant and enemies can still rise like stay-cat shadows. Covering the span of three years, Celeste changes from a girl with an idyllic childhood to one that cherishes freedoms that come from education and reading. Beautifully written, the character is a bit too perfect for me and the plot could have been tightened. At 450 pages the suffers in spots.
The imagery is gorgeous with the clouds symbolizing Celeste's wandering the globe or daydreaming. Ominous clouds foreshadow the persecution and oppression. Pelicans throughout symbolize freedom and the lighthouse shows how all people are alike no matter where they live in the world. Celeste is told to shine like a lighthouse as a beacon in the midst of evil. The beginning captures the beauty of Valparaiso with its unique smells, tastes, sounds, and steep harbor views. The neighborhood is noisy and jostling with earthquakes and people.
Celeste is a bit too perfect in my book. She always reacts the right way. Even when she is angry, it turns to understanding almost immediately. When characters don't have flaws of any sort, it feels like an adult is speaking and using the character to teach a lesson. There is a fine line between didactic characters and authentic characters and Celeste seemed like a voice-piece for tolerance. It is a good message, don't get me wrong, but without flaws I find this type of character less three-dimensional.
The plot is in three parts beginning in Valparaiso, then Maine, then back to Valparaiso. The bridging of two cultures was interesting but I was not quite as enthralled with the last part. That was when the character does these inspiring things, but Celeste becomes too perfect and people conveniently show up to help her or she gets an idea from a magic stone. Plus the reader knows she's looking for a parent and that she will find him or her because up to this point everything is going her way. Except there were two instances where people disappeared and she couldn't find them. Like I said, it is just the last third that doesn't come together for me.
But then again, there was a nice twist in the third part. What seemed predictable (winning a writing contest) turns into something more. Good writers do that. They go one step further so that what seems predictable is not. The grandma's character is nicely woven as a supporting character. She survived the Holocaust and plays a part in helping Celeste understand persecution and survival. She is a tough shell and has a few surprises up her sleeve. Don't be fooled by her naps. She's very much alive and active.
Most of this story is beautiful and like I said I had a bit of a problem with the end. Unfortunately, that is the part that is the most fresh in my mind so I am being a little more negative than I probably would, if let's say, the middle was the part I didn't like. There are some good messages and many that apply to kids that are outsiders or marginalized for whatever reasons in school. Celeste is teased when she first goes to school in Maine because she doesn't speak English. Later she becomes friends with the kids and says they don't get home cooking because they grow up on frozen foods. I laughed at that generalization.
At school, Celeste is good at math and comments on numbers being easy because English isn't necessary to understand them. This is true with ESL students. Oftentimes they are good at math while their brains try to sort through learning a different language. Also, Celeste is fluent in German and Spanish. It is usually easier for a kid to learn a third language quickly so it is plausible that she got that good in English in a couple of years. It has also been established that she is a keeper-of-words, lugging a notebook around because she loves to write.
She describes missing her home country and family as a "constant ache" and living with one foot in Valparaiso and the other in Maine. I feel like I have three feet. One in Taiwan where I work, one in Minnesota where my parents are, and one in Washington where my grandson lives. Then there is Celeste's aunt that has decided to live in a different country. She has a home there and does not look like she will ever go back to Valparaiso. As Celeste says, "You belong everywhere and nowhere at all." This is a great book for stepping into a different culture and tasting its foods, riding its steep cable cars, smelling its flowers, and meeting its people.
When the dictator loses power after two long years, Celeste goes back to her country to find that much has changed from the hardships and persecution. She is determined to find her parents while the adults in her life caution her against asking questions. Fear is still dominant and enemies can still rise like stay-cat shadows. Covering the span of three years, Celeste changes from a girl with an idyllic childhood to one that cherishes freedoms that come from education and reading. Beautifully written, the character is a bit too perfect for me and the plot could have been tightened. At 450 pages the suffers in spots.
The imagery is gorgeous with the clouds symbolizing Celeste's wandering the globe or daydreaming. Ominous clouds foreshadow the persecution and oppression. Pelicans throughout symbolize freedom and the lighthouse shows how all people are alike no matter where they live in the world. Celeste is told to shine like a lighthouse as a beacon in the midst of evil. The beginning captures the beauty of Valparaiso with its unique smells, tastes, sounds, and steep harbor views. The neighborhood is noisy and jostling with earthquakes and people.
Celeste is a bit too perfect in my book. She always reacts the right way. Even when she is angry, it turns to understanding almost immediately. When characters don't have flaws of any sort, it feels like an adult is speaking and using the character to teach a lesson. There is a fine line between didactic characters and authentic characters and Celeste seemed like a voice-piece for tolerance. It is a good message, don't get me wrong, but without flaws I find this type of character less three-dimensional.
The plot is in three parts beginning in Valparaiso, then Maine, then back to Valparaiso. The bridging of two cultures was interesting but I was not quite as enthralled with the last part. That was when the character does these inspiring things, but Celeste becomes too perfect and people conveniently show up to help her or she gets an idea from a magic stone. Plus the reader knows she's looking for a parent and that she will find him or her because up to this point everything is going her way. Except there were two instances where people disappeared and she couldn't find them. Like I said, it is just the last third that doesn't come together for me.
But then again, there was a nice twist in the third part. What seemed predictable (winning a writing contest) turns into something more. Good writers do that. They go one step further so that what seems predictable is not. The grandma's character is nicely woven as a supporting character. She survived the Holocaust and plays a part in helping Celeste understand persecution and survival. She is a tough shell and has a few surprises up her sleeve. Don't be fooled by her naps. She's very much alive and active.
Most of this story is beautiful and like I said I had a bit of a problem with the end. Unfortunately, that is the part that is the most fresh in my mind so I am being a little more negative than I probably would, if let's say, the middle was the part I didn't like. There are some good messages and many that apply to kids that are outsiders or marginalized for whatever reasons in school. Celeste is teased when she first goes to school in Maine because she doesn't speak English. Later she becomes friends with the kids and says they don't get home cooking because they grow up on frozen foods. I laughed at that generalization.
At school, Celeste is good at math and comments on numbers being easy because English isn't necessary to understand them. This is true with ESL students. Oftentimes they are good at math while their brains try to sort through learning a different language. Also, Celeste is fluent in German and Spanish. It is usually easier for a kid to learn a third language quickly so it is plausible that she got that good in English in a couple of years. It has also been established that she is a keeper-of-words, lugging a notebook around because she loves to write.
She describes missing her home country and family as a "constant ache" and living with one foot in Valparaiso and the other in Maine. I feel like I have three feet. One in Taiwan where I work, one in Minnesota where my parents are, and one in Washington where my grandson lives. Then there is Celeste's aunt that has decided to live in a different country. She has a home there and does not look like she will ever go back to Valparaiso. As Celeste says, "You belong everywhere and nowhere at all." This is a great book for stepping into a different culture and tasting its foods, riding its steep cable cars, smelling its flowers, and meeting its people.
December 14, 2018
This was wonderful! I've gotten pretty jaded over the awards but the ALA committees outdid themselves this year! Besides, this certainly adds to the diversity of the collection. Offhand, I cannot think of another book for kids placed in Chile. Since I work in San Diego, I always would like more novels with a background in Hispanic culture. The main character is a lovely thoughtful intelligent young lady. She even has the sense to appreciate how wonderful her life is! Her parents are doctors and make it their mission to work for the health of the impoverished people in the area. The family are all idealists and love culture and learning. Their lovely life gets turned upside down when a dictator takes over the country and the girl is sent to her tia (aunt) in Maine for safety. It turned out to be a wise idea since both parents ended up having to go into hiding, leaving only the abuela (grandmother) and her nana at the house. Where they did some amazing things only revealed in the third section of the story. I do highly recommend this book. My only hesitation, which lowers the book to more like 4.5 stars, is the immense amount of superstition in the book. For such well educated people, to believe that pendulums are going to foretell the future, is surprising. There were other superstitions as well, but really, that is about the most I can do in criticizing this book. This might be a good book to hand an intelligent kid who dislikes school so they can get an idea that education can be and should be, fun. This was an utter delight! Addendum: After looking through other reviews, I agree with a common criticism. I agree that it would have been helpful if the author had told her audience what was real history and what wasn't. I was thinking that when I finished the book, wondering about the history involved. Hopefully someone in the publisher will see these criticisms and pass them on to the author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2019
don't have time for a full review right now. but this is a spectacularly beautiful & haunting work of middle-grade fiction which should be read by EVERYONE. regardless of age.
"I am an exile. That means I am a traveler of the world, and I belong to nothing but the things I love."
"I am an exile. That means I am a traveler of the world, and I belong to nothing but the things I love."
April 4, 2019
Really loved this book!
April 4, 2016
I really loved this book. I found it moving and I thought the language was really beautiful. I wish I read Spanish fluently enough to read it in Spanish because I would love to read it in its original.
The story is set in Valparaiso, Chile and tells of a young girl, Celeste, as "the General" took over Chile. (This most certainly is Pinochet but some aspects are fictionalized.) Valparaiso sounds like a beautiful town, on the hills with cable cars (much like San Francisco). Celeste's parents go into hiding and Celeste gets sent to the United States to live with her aunt at Juliette Cove in Massachusetts. These are difficult experiences for Celeste ...filled with much worry, sadness and heartbreak but also courage, discovery and growth. There are a few things that seemed unbelievable to me (allowing Celeste to go in search of her father being the chief among these) but still I found the story engaging and inspiring. I found Celeste's character inspiring and particularly her choices near the end.
And as I mentioned, I loved the language as well as some of the lessons woven into the fabric of the story.
Celeste's mom compares our souls to earthquakes...an earthquake causes things to topple and feel unsecure. Celeste asks, "So-are you saying that our souls can be knocked down like houses?" Her mom answers and says, "Our souls can crumble when we don't care about our neighbors or when we say hateful things about others, or exclude people for being different...But remember, Celeste, that there are always so many more ways to heal and help a soul than to break one. Human beings are just like the earth. We want to be whole. Remember that."
"I will write the Andes with the thread of the moon that I carry with me all the way to the north. And this moonlight will guide my pen to weave stories." (Page 150)
"People give away their power so quickly when they are scared, Celeste. ...I think that these horrible two years wouldn't have happened at all if people had more faith in themselves in the first place." (Page 311)
"It (the sea) is a great force, just like the heart of man, with its ability to do both good and bad." (324)
"So many times I was more like a small boat than a person. My heart was beating as fast as the rhythm of the waves. I had peaks and valleys as the waves carried me from one shore to another, from one cove to a different one." (Page 375)
"I am a refugee. And it is a beautiful word, a beautiful thing. I am an exile. That means I am a traveler of the world, and I belong to nothing but the things I love." (Page 454). What a beautiful perspective!
The story is set in Valparaiso, Chile and tells of a young girl, Celeste, as "the General" took over Chile. (This most certainly is Pinochet but some aspects are fictionalized.) Valparaiso sounds like a beautiful town, on the hills with cable cars (much like San Francisco). Celeste's parents go into hiding and Celeste gets sent to the United States to live with her aunt at Juliette Cove in Massachusetts. These are difficult experiences for Celeste ...filled with much worry, sadness and heartbreak but also courage, discovery and growth. There are a few things that seemed unbelievable to me (allowing Celeste to go in search of her father being the chief among these) but still I found the story engaging and inspiring. I found Celeste's character inspiring and particularly her choices near the end.
And as I mentioned, I loved the language as well as some of the lessons woven into the fabric of the story.
Celeste's mom compares our souls to earthquakes...an earthquake causes things to topple and feel unsecure. Celeste asks, "So-are you saying that our souls can be knocked down like houses?" Her mom answers and says, "Our souls can crumble when we don't care about our neighbors or when we say hateful things about others, or exclude people for being different...But remember, Celeste, that there are always so many more ways to heal and help a soul than to break one. Human beings are just like the earth. We want to be whole. Remember that."
"I will write the Andes with the thread of the moon that I carry with me all the way to the north. And this moonlight will guide my pen to weave stories." (Page 150)
"People give away their power so quickly when they are scared, Celeste. ...I think that these horrible two years wouldn't have happened at all if people had more faith in themselves in the first place." (Page 311)
"It (the sea) is a great force, just like the heart of man, with its ability to do both good and bad." (324)
"So many times I was more like a small boat than a person. My heart was beating as fast as the rhythm of the waves. I had peaks and valleys as the waves carried me from one shore to another, from one cove to a different one." (Page 375)
"I am a refugee. And it is a beautiful word, a beautiful thing. I am an exile. That means I am a traveler of the world, and I belong to nothing but the things I love." (Page 454). What a beautiful perspective!
July 6, 2018
I... Loved... This... Book... So... SOOOOOOOOOOOO... MUCH!!! Marjorie Agosin is easily one of my new favorite authors. This book is considered YA but I think it's one of those titles that belongs in the general sections of libraries and bookstores as well.
I really felt close to Celeste, the main character; not because I have gone through a similar experience as her (by no means), but because her personality and her character were both so apparent, nuanced and well-developed throughout the whole story. I think I was very similar to her when I was younger, especially in the ways that she wants to know what's going on amidst confusion and being protected by her parents. I think we can all relate to that in one way or another.
I was so touched by so many parts in the book. I'm going to go through the entire book again and write down all the quotes that moved me (there are many). The writing was excellent and the story line was great as well--a perfect mix of fiction and real life if you know what I mean.
I appreciated the ways that Agosin mixed in other peoples' experiences with exile--Tom and Kim as well as her Tia Graciela. And I love the overall theme of the power of reading and writing, and the kind of healing literacy and writing can give to a person who has experienced displacement or difficulty in general. Celeste is my hero.
There were some parts of the book that I felt were a bit unfinished... but perhaps Agosin left them that way on purpose, to let our imagination run. Or maybe she left them unfinished because sometimes, that's how life is. Not everything ends well or perfectly... Sometimes things in our lives or the lives of people around us are just never addressed.
5 stars for this amazing book.
I really felt close to Celeste, the main character; not because I have gone through a similar experience as her (by no means), but because her personality and her character were both so apparent, nuanced and well-developed throughout the whole story. I think I was very similar to her when I was younger, especially in the ways that she wants to know what's going on amidst confusion and being protected by her parents. I think we can all relate to that in one way or another.
I was so touched by so many parts in the book. I'm going to go through the entire book again and write down all the quotes that moved me (there are many). The writing was excellent and the story line was great as well--a perfect mix of fiction and real life if you know what I mean.
I appreciated the ways that Agosin mixed in other peoples' experiences with exile--Tom and Kim as well as her Tia Graciela. And I love the overall theme of the power of reading and writing, and the kind of healing literacy and writing can give to a person who has experienced displacement or difficulty in general. Celeste is my hero.
There were some parts of the book that I felt were a bit unfinished... but perhaps Agosin left them that way on purpose, to let our imagination run. Or maybe she left them unfinished because sometimes, that's how life is. Not everything ends well or perfectly... Sometimes things in our lives or the lives of people around us are just never addressed.
5 stars for this amazing book.
August 6, 2025
DNF very hard to read
July 17, 2019
I Lived On Butterfly hill is an absolutely amazing book about love and losing hope. Celeste is a courageous, smart, clever girl who is the most relatable character I have ever read about. Her worries in Chile stretch far beyond the imagination, but make you wonder. I Lived On Butterfly Hill will put tears in your eyes as you prepare to be taken on the ride of your life.
August 23, 2022
I loved this book. I loved reading it, and loved the way it was out of my normal genre, and loved the way the translator wrote so beautifully. If I were reviewing it with the joy in my heart from the story, I would give it five stars. Perhaps it is a four star book, if I were to try to tier my books properly. But life is too short to not review books from the heart.
April 27, 2017
Despite the sad topic, it's filled with a lot of love and sweetness.
December 1, 2018
A fun, magical realism novel with poetic descriptions of life as an exile as a preteen in the US. Used as a more accessible text to discuss Latin American Dictators in class unit
August 3, 2019
Beautiful book! (yes it made me cry 😂) I want to learn more about Chile now
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“Maybe the best thing I can do... is to write what we all know and love, write what I see coming back to life before my eyes.”
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“They can destroy the furniture, burn the books, but there will always be a young person who remembers a poem.”
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“Maybe you will be one of the people who make a difference.”
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“Yes, I am a refugee. And it is a beautiful word, a beautiful thing. I am an exile. That means I am a traveler of the world, and I belong to nothing but the things I love.”
—
“Maybe the best thing I can do... is to write what we all know and love, write what I see coming back to life before my eyes.”
—
“They can destroy the furniture, burn the books, but there will always be a young person who remembers a poem.”
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“Maybe you will be one of the people who make a difference.”
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“Yes, I am a refugee. And it is a beautiful word, a beautiful thing. I am an exile. That means I am a traveler of the world, and I belong to nothing but the things I love.”
October 7, 2019
5 stars. Celeste is an eleven year old girl from Chile. One day, she and her friends notice strange ships in the harbor. Then people start to disappear from the community at night. Because Celeste’s parents support the President, their lives are in danger while the General is taking over. After they go into hiding, Celeste’s grandmother sends her to Maine, where Celeste’s aunt lives, and she will be safe. She spends two years feeling alone, sad, and homesick, while getting used to her new school and country. Eventually, she is able to go home to Chile. I liked the ending of the book and how Celeste uses her scholarship money to start a traveling library for the people who can’t get education or books. I really liked that this book made me feel all kinds of emotions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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December 24, 2024read this book in 6th grade, just had a really lovely conversation w my friends about it
January 14, 2016
I just finished "I lived on Butterfly Hill" and really liked it. I love it because I am learning Spanish and they occasionally speak in Spanish and I actually understand it. It is a pretty cool feeling to understand another language. "I Lived on Butterfly Hill is about how a girl has her country be taken over by military dictatorship where they are very cruel. And even though this is sad it reminds me of another book I read called "Between Shades of Gray." Which is about the Germans in World War 2 and what they went through. The character I admire is the main character, Celeste. The author describes her as "a dreamer". I wish I was like her and could come with amazing and creative stories. She has this journal where she writes down new words she hears and what is going on in her life such as her joys and fears. I have good ideas in my head, but I can never get them down on paper. When her Nana sends her away to Maine because she wants her to be safe, I really admire Celeste's courage. The setting in Maine is important because they describe it as "the gray mirrors her fears of back home" and I admire her courage to fight the gray and dull and make excitement in her life. She even has to learn an entirely new language in Maine, English. When she goes to school, all of the girls make fun of her, and the worst part is she can't understand them. They constantly saw bad things like she is stupid and ugly and she has no idea what they are saying I think that this is really strong. After two years of living in Maine, Celeste becomes much more outgoing. I guess I would too if I finally understood what people were talking about. Celeste also becomes much closer to Kim, the other exchange student. They hang out more and go to each others houses much like friends do now. They call each other their "forever friends". But then out of nowhere Kim disappears, and they assume she goes back to Korea. But Celeste is heartbroken. Her one friend leaves, and now she is all alone again. I dislike this part of the book because it makes me feel sad, and it reminds me that last summer my friend Avie moved away last summer. I know how it feels to lose friends but lose your only one. I couldn't possible imagine how she felt. She does find more friends, though. The girls and guy that were teasing her actually become her friends. This part actually confused me a little. I had to read it a few times, and I still don't understand why or how they suddenly became her friends. It seems a little unrealistic even for a made up story. It seems to suspicious. But she then gets the most exciting news she has gotten in two years, she is moving home. She is excited but also a little nervous. So much damage has been done to her country, and she still doesn't know where her parents are. When she gets back from her long plane ride and rides into town, she notices it looks as if the town is well, tired and Celeste is worried. But all of her worries disappears as she runs to the top of Butterfly Hill. I know the feeling when you have been gone for a long time, and you run up to your house. You feel safe again getting to sleep in your bed, eat at you own table, watch t.v. in your living room. The feeling great. Now I don't want to spoil the rest but I really did love the story. Celeste is a strong-willed dreamer who experienced something terrible that made her better. I can see why it won ten awards.
May 11, 2021
I Lived on Butterfly Hill was about a girl living in Chile in the 1970s. When the president was killed, a dictator took over, and Celeste's parents had to go into hiding. Celeste was sent to Maine, to live with her aunt, even though she didn't speak a word of English. I liked this book. It was kind of hard to understand sometimes, though, because there was a lot of Spanish incorporated into people's speech, and I don't speak Spanish. Other than that, it was really good. It was really well written, so I felt like I was actually in the places it described. The descriptions of Butterfly Hill made me want to live there.
December 16, 2015
Agosin's wonderfully written novel is fiction, but I get the impression, from the story and the information on the jacket cover, that the action in the story is loosely based on the author's own flight with her family from Chile after Pinochet's coup. Here, both the current president at the start of the story and the dictator, only referred to as "The General," are fictionalized, but the story and the tragedies, the heartbreaks and losses feel real. Celeste is a schoolgirl living with her doctor parents, her grandmother and the family's nanny Delfina. The opening chapters introduce day-to-day life with the family, which lives on Butterfly Hill. But even in the beginning, darkness and change looms, the first changes being the appearance of large, formidable-looking ships in the harbor. After the president is killed and The General takes over, Celeste's parents have to go into hiding, and eventually Celeste herself is sent to Maine to live with her mother's older sister, an aunt the young girl hasn't seen in several years. The story does an excellent job balancing the fear Celeste goes through, the uncertainty and the losses without overwhelming the younger audience for which the story is intended. Celeste, a bright girl with a penchant for daydreaming and a talent for words, sees friends and neighbors disappear, worries about her parents' safety, struggles to adapt in America and, later, feels torn between wanting to return to Chile but knowing she will leave a piece of her heart behind with her American aunt.An interesting side story is from Celeste's Abuela Frida, who had lived in Vienna but was forced to flee to Chile when the Nazi party took control of Germany. It is a large book, nearly 500 pages, but there are charming illustrations (by Lee White) throughout, and I finished it in two days. While this is fictional, it can lead to discussions on historical events such as Pinochet's coup, World War II and even events of today.
February 26, 2015
Celeste is 11, and leads a happy life in scenic Valparaiso, at the top of the town in a neighborhood called Butterfly Hill. She has a nanny and a beloved grandmother and doctor parents who adore her. Life is pretty much perfect as far as Celeste is concerned--but rumblings of fear and danger begin to run through daily life, and soon, truly terrible things begin to happen that affect everyone. Celeste's whole world will change. This extremely lengthy novel takes some getting through, and while the writing is poetic and the descriptions of Valparaiso are idyllic, it is hard to cotton to the somewhat hysterical, spoiled heroine. It also would have been very helpful to have some kind of foreword or afterword that placed the novel's events at an identified time in history, and that told us what was true and what was adjusted for the sake of a good story. Children attempting to find information about Chilean history will not find a democratically elected president called Alarcon, since his real name was Allende, and Pinochet, the army officer (never identified by name in the book, so this is a guess) who overthrew Allende in 1973 actually was in power for about 17 years, not the four or five that Agosin implies. Unless I misread Celeste's timeline and the events she describes, I think this book will do young readers quite an injustice. Its message, however, is a good one and there are some wonderfully quote-worthy passages. Middle grade readers.
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April 16, 2015Color is what leaps out and demands attention from I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín with illustrations by Lee White. Eleven-year-old Celeste Marconi lives in the port city of Valparaíso, a city of hills in Chile that hangs over the Pacific Ocean. Inside her blue and yellow house at the very top of Butterfly Hill, her grandmother sucks on bright yellow lemons while she knits long blue scarves, her Nana Delfina sweeps the floor with a purple broom, flowering buganvillias grow outside the windows, and Celeste’s room is painted a sky blue.
Although the target age range for this book is ten to fourteen years, this is no typical middle grade novel. At 455 pages, the story travels from Chile to Maine and back to Chile. It is set during a time when the progressive president of Chile is assassinated and a military dictatorship takes hold of the government, forcing Celeste’s parents to go into hiding and Celeste to travel to Maine where her aunt lives. The language is lyrical and gorgeous, and the illustrations by Lee White connect the reader to the story perfectly. I highly recommend this lovely, inspiring novel to any reader age ten and beyond. — Karina Glaser
From The Best Books We Read In March: https://bookriot.com/2015/04/01/riot-...
Although the target age range for this book is ten to fourteen years, this is no typical middle grade novel. At 455 pages, the story travels from Chile to Maine and back to Chile. It is set during a time when the progressive president of Chile is assassinated and a military dictatorship takes hold of the government, forcing Celeste’s parents to go into hiding and Celeste to travel to Maine where her aunt lives. The language is lyrical and gorgeous, and the illustrations by Lee White connect the reader to the story perfectly. I highly recommend this lovely, inspiring novel to any reader age ten and beyond. — Karina Glaser
From The Best Books We Read In March: https://bookriot.com/2015/04/01/riot-...
July 10, 2018
This is one of those beautifully written, important books that I wish more people would read, but they may not because it is labelled YA and has an 11 year old protagonist. But, I repeat, it is an important read, especially given the dark and disturbing times in which we live. The words themselves are pure poetry, painting amazing pictures, and taking the reader onto an imaginative journey. But, this also tells a story about living in a world gone mad, under a dictatorship, the fears and the terrors, the dangers and the possibilities. As I read it, it made me reflect on what it means to be a refugee, to be in exile, to find ones home torn away and changed utterly because of politics, greed, and influences beyond our understanding. Sometimes all becomes clearer when seen through the eyes of a child, and that is what this book does.
December 13, 2016
De eerste bladzijden was ik echt even verliefd op dit boek. Alles kwam tot leven. De geuren, de sfeer, het eten. Het boek leest een beetje als een sprookje. Poëtische schrijfstijl.
Het onderwerp is zeker geen sprookje. Het gaat over het leven voor, tijdens en na de dictatuur in Chili. Ook al kloppen de historische gegevens niet allemaal met de geschiedenis van Chili toch gaf het me inzicht in het leven onder een dictatuur.
Het is geschreven voor 10-14 jarigen. Dat is misschien ook waarom ik me nooit helemaal 'verloor' in het boek. Ondanks dat vond ik het een verfrissend, fijn, leerzaam boek.
Het onderwerp is zeker geen sprookje. Het gaat over het leven voor, tijdens en na de dictatuur in Chili. Ook al kloppen de historische gegevens niet allemaal met de geschiedenis van Chili toch gaf het me inzicht in het leven onder een dictatuur.
Het is geschreven voor 10-14 jarigen. Dat is misschien ook waarom ik me nooit helemaal 'verloor' in het boek. Ondanks dat vond ik het een verfrissend, fijn, leerzaam boek.
November 23, 2017
This astounding masterpiece by Marjorie Agosin, left me with a wonderful feeling of happiness and satisfaction. I read this book and finished it in 2 days! I could not put it down! This clever story is about a girl in Chile who has big dreams and looks out at the night sky from her roof top on Butterfly hill. Celeste loves to be with her friends in Cafe Iris and eat empanadas with her family. Her life takes a sudden turn, that takes her to Maine. As you read this story from the 12 year old girl's perspective, you will laugh, cry, and fall in love with each character you come across. I recommend this book, and is definitely one of the best books I have ever read.
October 14, 2015
I saw this title on a list of Best Multicultural Chapter Books on the Pragmatic Mom's blog. The title really jumped out at me. I read this as part of National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 - Oct 15). I wish I had read it when I was a pre-teen girl. It is beautifully written and makes the images in your minds eye really come alive. The main character is courageous and very wise and a great role model. I would love two things; 1) what happens to Tia Graciela and 2) will there be a sequel when Celeste is in her mid-20's?
September 24, 2018
The house on butterfly hill was an engrossing story about a ten year old girl growing up In wartime. Her parents are targeted for their political activism and are forced into hiding. She ends up having to move out of the country so she can't be targeted. Ultimately she learns that home can be wherever she is, and she finds bravery, strength, and maturity in her journey. I thought it was beautifully written and moving. However, i think it displayed some very one sided political views that I wish had been left out of a "children's" book.
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