I Lived on Butterfly Hill, by Marjorie Agosin

This is the story of 11-year-old Celeste, a writer, dreamer, creator - a 6th grader! Her life is upended when she is sent to Maine in the United States to live with her aunt because her country has been taken over by the military under a dictator's rule. Before she leaves for Maine, her friends start to disappear, and finally her parents go away to an unknown place to escape the harsh rules that the new government is implementing. Life on Butterfly Hill is changing very rapidly, and Celeste is doing her best to navigate a very fluid and dangerous situation.

Agosin writes in a way that draws you in very easily. Her chapters are short but so full of life that I don't remember feeling more a part of a story than I did when reading this one. Celeste is such a realistic character - I couldn't help but root for her all the way. Her situations were real, meaning not everything ended happily, but enough did to make her your, the reader's, hero! You will love the characters in this story, and perhaps, like me, wonder why our society and our culture isn't more like the one described here in Chile. This book makes me want to travel, and to be nicer to those around me. Who doesn't want to read a book like that? 5 paws!