Monarca: A Novel by Leopoldo Gout

From two award-winning artists and filmmakers, a magical illustrated fable about a Mexican-American girl and her mystical bond with the revered monarch butterfly.

On her fifteenth birthday, Inés receives a mysterious necklace from her abuela in Mexico. When she wears it, she is magically transformed into a monarch butterfly—the fulfilment of a prophecy linking Inés’ destiny to her family’s legacy and the butterflies’ survival.

The adventure begins as Inés joins the monarchs on their long journey south to the butterfly sanctuary in Mexico—an odyssey that has become increasingly perilous because of humans. Together, the swarm of monarchs travel from New York to the swamps of Louisiana to the pine-filled mountain tops of the western Sierra Madre, finally alighting at the Sierra Chincua sanctuary. On this wondrous and dangerous odyssey, Inés discovers the connection all creatures share, and the urgent need to protect the monarch’s migration and keep their habitats safe.

But the danger is not over. Gangs of workers have arrived to clear-cut the forests for avocado farms and must be stopped. Reunited with her abuela, Inés learns why she was turned into a monarch, a truth that stretches back 600 years to the time of the Aztecs and the arrival of Spanish conquistadors. Her newfound knowledge will help her unravel a long-guarded secret involving her family’s lineage and unlock the secret to saving the monarchs. Inés comes to realize that no matter what you are—whether a child or a butterfly—no one is too small to change the world.  

Divided into four parts to mirror a butterfly’s life—the egg stage, the larva stage, the pupa stage and the butterfly stage—Monarca blends Mexican folklore, environmentalism, and magical realism in an enchanting novel, illustrated with 100 stunning full-color images, that will inspire readers to protect and cherish the sacred world around them.