THE PATRON SAINT OF BUTTERFLIES

Book ID/图书代码： 06840007B19604

English Summary/英文概要： Agnes and Honey have been best friends for as long as they can remember. But everything is about to change, from their friendship to the only home they’ve ever known: a religious commune called Mount Blessing. Agnes loves being a believer and following the rules of the commune, but Honey has started to rebel. Then, when Agnes and Honey experience the outside world (on the run, no less), their friendship is tested further. After all, when everything you’ve ever known turns out to be a lie, how do you find the truth? A powerful story of faith, doubt, abuse, and above all, friendship.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 如果你最好的朋友深信的事物，你不僅不以為然，甚至唯恐不及；
這樣存在於妳們之間的友誼是否還有可能繼續下去…

14歲的安格妮斯和漢妮來自一個名為貝勒辛(Blessing)的宗教社區，在這裡居民必須遵守四大誡律。雖然安格妮斯和漢妮是彼此最好的朋友，但說起對戒律的態度，兩個人可是天差地別、南轅北轍...
安格妮斯：虔誠的信仰者，會模仿聖人的行徑包括讓自己挨餓、睡在石頭上，藉此提醒自己聖人曾經過過的苦日子；
漢妮：天生的反叛者。最近才剛因跟男孩接吻，被送進去悔過室。她根本是等不及想要逃離貝勒辛
這個願望在ㄧ次發生在安格妮斯弟弟班尼身上的嚴重意外後成真。
夏天來看孫兒的安格妮斯奶奶，在發現這個社區領袖加諸在這些孩子身上的身心傷害後，決心把小孩帶離貝勒辛。對漢妮來說，這是個求之不得的機會；但對安格妮斯來說，卻不是一個讓她相當情願的選擇…
尤其當兩個女孩開始接觸到外邊的世界〈麥當勞、沃爾瑪超市〉，新事物帶來的衝擊不僅加速了兩個女孩的變化，兩個人的友誼更因為對信仰態度的不同，出現了裂痕… (Kate Cheng)

Awards/获奖情况：★ 美國獨立書商協會選書（2008 Book Sense Pick）
★ 東北部獨立書商協會年度最佳青少年讀物〈Young-Adult Book of the Year by the Northeast Independent Booksellers Association〉
★ 歐普拉俱樂部推薦兒童讀本〈Oprah’s Book Club Kid’s Reading List〉
★ 亞馬遜最佳青少年小說〈Amazon.com’s Best Teen Books of 2008〉

作者談此書的寫作: http://www.ceciliagalante.com/?page_id=3

Grade 6–9—Honey and Agnes are 14-year-old best friends growing up in the Mount Blessing religious commune near Fairfield, CT, but are polar opposites in their adherence to the "Four Big Rules" that govern daily life. Honey, abandoned at the commune as a newborn, is a perpetual rebel, having most recently been sent to the Regulation Room for kissing a boy. There, the group’s founder/leader, the charismatic Emmanuel, metes out punishments. Agnes is a self-described "saint wannabe." She starves herself, sleeps on stones, and wears a cord tightly belted under her robe as reminders of the suffering endured by the saints. The girls share a love for Nana Pete, Agnes’s father’s mother, and live for her annual summer visits. When Nana discovers the physical and emotional abuse imposed on the children, she resolves to spirit them away. Honey is a willing runaway, but Agnes is reluctant. The kids’ new reality includes "firsts" such as visits to McDonald’s and Wal-Mart. Their route ends in Georgia, at the home of Agnes’s estranged aunt. In the realistic and emotionally charged climax, family ties are revealed and, thanks to Honey’s forethought and Agnes’s new understanding that the truth can set you free, the cult is soon busted, police lights flashing. If both girls occasionally seem wise beyond their years, readers will nevertheless cheer them on as they ponder the limits of faith and duty.---Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA, From School Library Journal

Agnes and Honey have grown up together in the Mount Blessing religious community led by charismatic Emmanuel. But where Agnes is devoted, even emulating those she reads about in The Way of the Saints by mortifying her body, Honey is desperate for a way out. That comes in the form of Agnes’ Nana Pete, who learns about the physical discipline that goes on in the Regulation Room. When Agnes’ little brother, Benny, has a serious accident, which Emmanuel tries to heal with a miracle, Nana Pete whisks the three children away. The story, both past and present, unfolds in alternating chapters told by Agnes and Honey. Galante, who grew up in a religious commune, captures Agnes’ loyalty and unease, and Honey’s ability to see beyond her surroundings is adequately explained (she’s living with someone who has snuck a tiny TV into the compound), though the question of her origins seems contrived. Still, readers will be fascinated by a glimpse into a lifestyle not often seen. Grades 6-10.---Ilene Cooper, From Booklist

About the Author/作者介绍： 西西莉亞是高中英語老師，擁有賓州英皇書院學士學位，並在佛蒙特州的戈達德學院取得碩士學位。她目前每月幫the Times Leader撰寫書評。
她的這本書不僅獲選歐普拉俱樂部推薦〈Oprah’s Book Club Kid’s Reading List〉，更被亞馬遜選為當年度最佳青少年小說。她的新作SUMMER OF MAY，Simon & Schuster即將在 2011年春季發行出版

Format:电子手稿

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

原文第一章内容：暂无

手稿：暂无

大纲：暂无