{"product_id":"praise-song-for-the-butterflies-bernice-l-mcfadden-9781617755750","title":"Praise Song for the Butterflies","description":"\u003cp\u003eLonglisted for the \u003cb\u003e2019 Women's Prize for Fiction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003cb\u003eBlack Caucus of the American Library Association\u003c\/b\u003e 2019 Honor title, Fiction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"McFadden, writer of great, imaginative novels for years now (including \u003ci\u003eSugar\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGathering of Waters\u003c\/i\u003e), is back with one of her best yet. Exploring ritual sacrifice in contemporary West Africa, \u003ci\u003ePraise Song\u003c\/i\u003e offers a fascinating, painful glimpse into a world beyond America's shores, filled with tragedy and love and hope.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Perhaps one of the best books of the year, \u003ci\u003ePraise Song for the Butterflies\u003c\/i\u003e is a stunning, brief portrait that humanizes the plight of those in ritual servitude. It's a fantastic work from a gifted author.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Gazette\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A fictional West African country is the setting for Bernice L. McFadden's latest work, \u003ci\u003ePraise Song for the Butterflies.\u003c\/i\u003e Here we meet Abeo Kata, a 9-year-old girl who is ripped from her privileged lifestyle when her father forces her to become a slave in a religious sect. Rescued after 15 years, Abeo struggles to overcome dark family secrets while learning to love again.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEssence Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIncluded in \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookRiot\u003c\/i\u003e's\u003c\/b\u003e \"22 Upcoming Releases by Authors of Color Featured at BEA\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Bernice L. McFadden's novel \u003ci\u003ePraise Song for the Butterflies\u003c\/i\u003e has received great reviews and will be published today. The book centers on Abeo Kata, the privileged daughter of a government employee and a stay-at-home mother in West Africa whose happy life changes dramatically after she's placed in a shrine as an offering. Fifteen years later, Abeo is finally rescued and must learn to move beyond her traumatic past.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGood Morning America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"McFadden crafts a compassionate, unforgettable story of loss and redemption.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBBC Culture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Recent favorites [at Mahogany Books in Washington, DC] include...award-winning novelist Bernice L. McFadden's forthcoming \u003ci\u003ePraise Song for the Butterflies\u003c\/i\u003e, about a nine-year-old West African girl sacrificed into religious servitude.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The novel has a timeless quality; McFadden is a master of taking you to another time and place. In doing so, she raises questions surrounding the nature of memory, what we allow to thrive, and what we determine to execute...McFadden brings the sweeping drama of her earlier works--\u003ci\u003eThe Book of Harlan, Glorious, Gathering of Waters\u003c\/i\u003e--into this small book, and reminds me of the gentle fierceness of Edwidge Danticat's writing.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003ePraise Song for the Butterflies\u003c\/i\u003e is written like a fable--one of devastation, but triumph, too. Bernice L. McFadden's novel sheds light on the long practice of trokosi, ritual servitude to priests.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRefinery29\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas' idyllic lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeo's father, following his mother's advice, places the girl in a religious shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the fifteen years she is held in the shrine. When she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past, endure the revelation of family secrets, and learn to trust and love again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the tradition of Chris Cleave's \u003cem\u003eLittle Bee\u003c\/em\u003e, this novel is a contemporary story that offers an eye-opening account of the practice of ritual servitude in West Africa. Spanning decades and two continents, \u003cem\u003ePraise Song for the Butterflies\u003c\/em\u003e will break your heart and then heal it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bernice L. McFadden\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1617755753\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781617755750\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Akashic Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/01\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.30w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2018 pg. 55\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bernice L. McFadden","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43984652959999,"sku":"9781617755750","price":35.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_50b0b6f8-6bd4-4d2a-837b-767ef51c5da7.jpg?v=1683273479","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/praise-song-for-the-butterflies-bernice-l-mcfadden-9781617755750","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}