Butterfly Summer by Toni De Palma

  

Butterfly Summer

By Toni De Palma

 

SUMMARY:

Hollywood producer for the Bride-to-Be franchise, Anna is on top of her game. She’s helped generations of women navigate the ups and downs of romance. Ironic, since her own love life is a mess.

When the Bride-to-Be finale is relocated to Ischia in Italy, Anna plans to use the opportunity to settle some family affairs. And perhaps solve an old mystery of her own. Delia.

Decades before, at the age of seventeen, Anna had spent a summer with her aunt on the lush island. Far from an idyllic vacation, she made few friends and learned her aunt had been hiding secrets from the family.

Now she’s going back to sell her aunt’s house and finish up the show’s season finale.

As the crew get ready to roll the cameras, all havoc breaks loose. The newest bride-to-be is missing. The groom’s partying has been all over social media. And the sale of the house is shrouded in mystery, with an anonymous buyer.

Both Anna’s personal and professional lives crash in on her. With only hours left until the finale, Anna must find a solution for the show. And face the events that still haunt her from that long-ago summer.

 

MY REVIEW:

When I was first offered this book to review, I wondered if a contemporary American coming-of-age story would grab me. It is set on the island of Ischia. Not exactly sure where that was, so I looked it up.  Ischia is one of the three main islands in the Bay of Naples, along with Capri and Procida. This volcanic island, adorned with natural hot springs and charming seaside towns, invites long, leisurely lunches by the water and embraces a beautifully faded glamour that echoes the best of Italy. Picture scooter rides along tranquil coastal roads, refreshing swims off the rocks, and unexpected treasures around every corner— a place where everything unfolds at just the right pace. So, I gave it a chance. I am glad I did. However, to all readers out there who generally stick to a particular genre, widen your horizons and buy this book. I loved it!

It is quite a frantic start.  The story starts in a busy office. A meeting starts in ten minutes, and Anna can’t find the list that she needs. Even more annoying is a disruptive call from her mother, who can’t remember why she phoned and proceeds to talk about something completely irrelevant.  

“’Mom, I really gotta go.”

“There is something else, but now I forget”

At eighty-eight, it’s not unusual for my mother to have her fair share of senior moments but today is not the day for a game of twenty questions.

“Mom, I really, really have to hang up now”, I say

Writing in the present tense gives immediacy and Intensity. It also makes the reader feel like they are experiencing the events alongside the characters, creating a more intense and engaging reading experience. 

“’ But wait! I remember what I had to tell you. Someone’s made an offer on your aunt’s house in Ischia.”

When Anna attends the meeting, she learns that the finale of her TV show Bride to Be can no longer be shot in Istanbul due to an earthquake. Her assistant, Cheryl, makes a suggestion. Filming on an exotic island in Italy will not only save the show, but Anna can also complete the house sale.

Anna is reticent – she has never been back to Ischia since she was seventeen. That summer. That fateful summer. So here we have the what and the how – the hook and the connection, but we don’t yet know the ‘why.’

We leave the first chapter as Anna leaves America, and she travels on the hydrofoil from Naples to the island. Her anxiety and uneasiness are beautifully described in the mood of the sea.

‘This is the time of year when the sea holds the frigidity of winter, and the frothy waves kiss the low gray clouds that dip low on the horizon. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the sea is angry to see me back. Can I blame it after the awful mess I left things the last time I was here?’

The timeline now changes to July 1984, so the narrative shifts to an earlier version of Anna’s life. She is staying with her aunt on Ischia for the school holidays and at aged seventeen, hopes that, as Italy is synonymous with love and romance, her education might benefit from its rich romantic traditions.

There is already a sense that she doesn’t quite fit in with her peers at school, but she doesn’t know why and neither does the reader at this point. There are several references to how feeling different can be an isolating experience.

‘Spending the summer in Ischia and practising being a different person. Not that I know who this different person is.’

Anna’s aunt Maria is a teacher. Every morning there are several students who come to the house for summer schooling.  Delia, Giovanni and Arturo. Anna is also given the task of translating a story to improve her Italian. The dynamics of the group form the story, so with few characters, there's a stronger focus on how the characters interact with themselves, with each other, and with their environment. The first time Anna meets Delia is illuminating.

‘This girl is far more developed than me. Her shirt hugs her soft curves. Unlike my blemished face, she has smooth olive skin. But what strikes me the most is how she carries herself with so much pride and a complete lack of shame.’

How Anna’s relationship with Delia develops is quite an authentic and vulnerable story. What the reader sees is someone trying to make sense of her feelings and find her way and in general, it is handled sensitively and sympathetically. Being a teenager can be the most awkward, challenging and frustrating years of a person's life, so recognising self-awareness is very difficult.

 ‘Delia loops her arm through mine. The feeling of her skin makes me catch my breath. The warmth in my body returns, spreading to the rest of me. This isn’t a new feeling. The shame creeps back. Women who are attracted to and love other women but women like this don’t come from the places and the families that I come from.’

We see internalised homophobia, not an easy thing for her to process. The reader is also made aware of unexplained symptoms experienced by her aunt. Fatigue, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, physical aches and pains. Anna witnesses some strange behaviors, bristly moods, violent outbursts and mysterious yellow vials kept in the fridge.

‘There is a fog which is my aunt’s constant companion.’

We learn of the outcome later in the story.

On a lighter note, the descriptive language is really good and helps create vivid mental images in the reader's mind by appealing to their senses. What could be more Italian than a square on market day, the vibrant hub of local life?

‘Beyond the piazza is the main corso lined with shops. The crowd is a mix of people. A few gangs of teenagers, who carry rucksacks on their shoulders and rolled beach towels under their arms. At a café, a group of men are arguing about politics. Mostly the corso is filled with women buying fresh meat, cheese and pasta they will use for the pranzo, the midday meal. The frutteria has flat wooden tables heaped with apricots the color of sunset and straw baskets filled with heart-shaped strawberries. The sugar from the fruit is warmed by the sun, perfuming the air. The fish store has glassy-eyed fish caught that morning, draped over moulds of ice, their silver scales sparkling.’

 There is a rather dry humour - the contrast between sentiment and reality that makes the situation funny.

‘A cute couple, Patrizia and Stefano, share one towel on the beach. They have their legs pretzled together, making for some interesting tan lines, I think.’

This book doesn’t back down from the hard things. From a girl navigating the choppy waters of adolescence and first love to sexuality and mental health. It is a coming-of-age story and effective in giving the characters an issue to fix, mature from or evolve from. Teens generally don’t listen and are always engaged in some rebellious stuff that challenges authority, norms and expectations but it's a normal part of adolescence. It’s exciting.

‘Most people might not count borrowing your friend’s brother’s scooter as a crazy thing to do, but I’ve lived a pretty sheltered life. This feels crazy to me. As we pick up speed, Delia’s curls blow into my face. Is it the air or Delia who smells like warm jasmine.’

Multiple layers in the book generate depth and complexity in the story. Things that happened between her and Delia. An unrequited love from the summer of 1984. Unpleasant memories for Anna. Forty years and many panic attacks later, not only does she return to Ischia to face the ghosts of her past, but she has to handle the sale of her aunt’s house and film the finale of her TV show, Bride-to-be. The book ends where it began. Anna’s PA had told her that if she didn’t go back to the island, there was no chance of moving forward.

Anna returns to her aunt’s house, and there are poignant moments of reflection and reminiscence, prompting a mix of emotions and insights.

‘I wish someone had been able to pinpoint my aunt’s mental health issues sooner. Why hadn’t I appreciated her more? Would things have been different? The pain of not knowing, along with the guilt, is like shrapnel under my skin.’

The last part of the book is wilder and more frenzied than the first. Rehearsals for the TV show begin at the Hotel Ischia Paradiso, but the bride-to-be, Bianca aka brat with a capital B is a difficult and demanding bride, changes her mind about getting married and goes MIA (missing in action). The inebriated groom-to-be, Eric has been videoed dancing in a lewd and aggressive manner whilst groping the breasts of an attractive woman he is dancing with. Will the wedding go ahead? The crew have a riotous party with excessive alcohol consumption. Anna’s buyer wants to keep their identity a secret and she also wants to find out what happened to Delia. It is all quite crazy and hilarious at the same time.

There are some real surprises at the end, which I will not spoil here, so perhaps I will close this review with a quote from the book.

“Love is the only reason to live; without it, there is no survival.”

 

 

Why I recommend this book:

I feel it is a ‘light and dark’ book. By that, I mean it conjures up a picture that I think we are all familiar with. Summers in Italy during the 1980s were a vibrant celebration of life, filled with sunshine, joyful gatherings, and the unmistakable charm of Italian culture. Stunning beaches dotted with colourful umbrellas, where families and friends gathered to bask in the warmth of the sun. Vespas zipped through the narrow, winding streets, their cheerful beeps adding to the symphony of summer sounds, creating a fast-paced heart of the vibrant Italian lifestyle. Timeless summer magic. Yet, in the shadows are undertones of other sensibilities. Anna is developing self-knowledge, trying to find self-acceptance and confidence. Her aunt is experiencing something darker. The author’s note at the end explains that although it is a work of semi-fiction, it incorporates some true events.. one of which is her own aunt’s suicide. The story explores themes of self-awareness, identity, and navigating the complexities of life. Trying to understand past experiences to derive meaning. No one is exempt from anxieties and uncertainties, even in Italy. Perhaps also the author feels we should stop regretting past decisions and practice more self-compassion. In going back to Ischia, Anna acknowledges and accepts her feelings.

Writing in the present tense is quite hard to do, but it does create a heightened sense of immediacy and can make the readers feel like they're active participants in the story's unfolding drama. It is particularly effective in genres such as this, in the first-person narrative.

The inclusion of Americanisms in books helps to create a sense of authenticity and can provide insights into the specific time, place, and culture being depicted. However, some publishers may choose to adapt texts for different audiences by replacing Americanisms with more internationally recognised terms. 

The cover is striking and I can see the symbolism. Butterflies symbolise transformation, rebirth, and personal growth across many cultures and spiritual beliefs. Their life cycle, with its dramatic metamorphosis from caterpillar to winged adult, serves as a potent metaphor for change, resilience, and the journey of self-discovery.

Italy is a country where passion is its culture and history but at the end of the day, love is a universal feeling. This is a great book to promote opening up to and accepting same-sex relationships.

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Toni De Palma is a multi-published author of five novels. Her first novel, Under the Banyan Tree, was selected as a Kirkus New Voices Pick and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Toni holds an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College and is a 2008 recipient of a New Jersey Arts Fellowship in Prose. Toni's writing interests extend to fiction, memoir, plays and screenplays. In December 2019, Toni directed her first short film, Marty's Calling, adapted from one of her short plays.

BOOK BLURB:

Published by Evoke Press (July 2025)

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:

Under the Banyan Tree 

Jeremy Owl