When the Butterflies Came

Synopsis (From Amazon.com):  A moving story of a young girl's struggle with love, loss, family, and magic from the beyond, from critically acclaimed author Kimberley Griffiths Little.

Everybody thinks Tara Doucet has the perfect life. But Tara’s life is anything but perfect: Her dear Grammy Claire has just passed away, her mom is depressed and distant, and she and her sister, Riley, can’t agree on anything. But when mysterious and dazzling butterflies begin to follow her around after Grammy Claire’s funeral, Tara knows in her heart that her grandmother has left her one final mystery to solve. Tara finds a stack of keys and detailed letters from Grammy Claire. Note by note, Tara learns unexpected truths about her grandmother’s life. As the letters grow more ominous and the clues harder to decipher, Tara realizes that the secrets she must uncover could lead to grave danger. And when Tara and Riley are swept away to the beautiful islands of Chuuk to hear their grandmother’s will, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all, one that will change her life forever. Kimberley Griffiths Little weaves a magical, breathtaking mystery full of loss and love, family and faith.

My Review:  I really enjoyed When the Butterflies Came.  I loved the relationship between Tara and her Grammy Claire.  Even though Grammy Claire has just passed away, she is as much of the story as Tara is.  Tara has to solve her Grammy's riddles/clues to save the research Grammy Claire has been working on for years.  The riddles/clues were fantastic.  The way they wove the story together right to the very end was so clever.

Even though When the Butterflies Came is recommended for 8 years and up - it makes a great read at any age.  The underlying messages throughout the book on people's character, family, friends, and doing the right thing are wonderful. I really enjoyed the story from the beginning to the very last page.  In fact, I didn't want it to end.

Meet the Author:  Kimberley Griffiths Little is the author of The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, as well as dozens of short stories that have appeared in numerous publications, and the novels Breakaway, Enchanted Runner, and The Last Snake Runner. She is the winner of the Southwest Book Award. Kimberley lives near the banks of the Rio Grande in New Mexico in a solar adobe house with her husband and their three sons.

Purchase it:  You can purchase When the Butterflies Came online at Amazon for $17.99 (Kindle version $9.89)