The Fall of Butterflies - by Andrea Portes (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

We Were Liars meets Looking for Alaska in a uniquely funny and heartbreaking teen novel about a passionate-yet-doomed friendship, set against a backdrop of wealth and glamour.

Willa Parker, 646th and least-popular resident of What Cheer, Iowa, is headed east to start a new life. Did she choose this life? No, because that would be too easy--and nothing in Willa's life is easy. It's her famous genius mother's idea to send her to ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive Pembroke Prep, and Willa has no intention of fitting in. But when she meets peculiar, glittering Remy Taft, the richest, most mysterious girl on campus, she starts to see a foothold in this foreign world--a place where she could maybe, possibly, sort of fit in. When Willa looks at Remy, she sees a girl who has everything. But for Remy, having everything comes at a price. And as she spirals out of control, Willa can feel Remy spinning right out of her grasp.

Andrea Portes, author of Anatomy of a Misfit, spins a similarly incandescent, heartfelt story that explores the meaning of friendship, new beginnings, and the precarious joy and devastating pain of finding home in a place--a person--with wings.

From the Back Cover

Willa Parker, 646th and least-popular resident of What Cheer, Iowa, is headed east to start a new life.

Did she choose this life? No, because that would be too easy--and nothing in Willa's life is easy. It's her famous genius mother's idea to send her to ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive Pembroke Prep, but Willa has no intention of fitting in at Pembroke. She's not staying long, she decides. Not at this school--and not on this planet.

But when she meets peculiar, glittering Remy Taft, the richest, most mysterious girl on campus, she starts to see a foothold in this foreign world--a place where she could maybe, possibly, sort of fit in.

When Willa looks at Remy, she sees a girl who has everything. But for Remy, having everything comes at a price. And as she spirals out of control, Willa can feel Remy spinning right out of her grasp.

In Willa's secret heart, all she's ever wanted is to belong. But if Remy, the girl who gave her this world, is slip-sliding away, is Willa meant to follow her down?

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR ANATOMY OF A MISFIT: "A self-deprecating and highly memorable heroine whose bawdy, laceratingly funny narration makes her instantly endearing while also revealing her flaws, uncertainties, and ethical quandaries." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"... a romance filled with seriously funny dark humor and tragedy." - Kirkus Reviews

"Anika's observations are razor-sharp, especially when she is describing other people... An introductory note says the story is based on the author's ninth-grade experience. What a year." - The Horn Book

"Anika's droll voice shines, and her emotions are palpable. After a heartbreaking tragedy, Anika's ending . . . will leave readers cheering." - School Library Journal

"Fifteen-year-old Anika Dragomir throws her arms around us and draws us in from the very beginning... Droll, intimate, often laugh-out-loud funny narration carries the reader through more than 300 pages... Anika's winning voice may just be the star of Portes's first young adult novel." - New York Times Book Review

"Anika Dragomir is the funniest, snarkiest, most insightful misfit a reader could ever hope to meet. I laughed my way through Anatomy of a Misfit right up until the very end, when the book broke my heart into a million pieces. This is a beautiful, brave and powerful novel." - Melissa Kantor, author of Maybe One Day and The Breakup Bible

"The protagonist's voice is vibrant and authentic... Fans of Chelsey Philpot's Even in Paradise will enjoy this coming-of-age story with emotional appeal." - School Library Journal

"[Willa's] idiosyncratic, often mean, sometimes vulnerable voice is the highlight of this contemporary problem novel... Willa's realization that some loving relationships are also toxic, and the slow fracturing of Willa and Remy's friendship are believably painful." - Booklist

"Remy's terrible choices throughout (including seducing a teacher) and her descent into drug abuse feel organic rather than histrionic, while Willa's emergence from the dark is hard-fought and believable." - Horn Book Magazine

PRAISE FOR ANDREA PORTES: "Portes writes with such cool grace we almost forget to be astonished by her narrative's complexity." - Matthew Specktor, American Dream Machine

"Portes's short chapters and staccato narration make for a quick and compulsive read." - Publishers Weekly

"Andrea Portes writes with the tip of a knife, shape-shifting between characters and laying bare their darkest secrets." - Dylan Landis, Normal People Don't Live Like This

"It's rare that a book can be as funny and absolutely delightful as it is moving and thought provoking, and Anatomy of a Misfit is both." - Lauren Oliver, author of Before I Fall

"[Willa's] first-person narration is self-deprecating, deeply thoughtful, and thoroughly funny, with a sometimes-chiding direct address that pulls readers into her confidence. Snarky and painfully astute. But in a good way. - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"As with Anatomy of a Misfit, Portes's second YA novel has a seductive zaniness and almost unstoppable exuberance... Willa's memorable voice and humor, as well as her longing to cultivate relationships that will anchor her more firmly to the world, will linger with readers." - Publishers Weekly