Francie

Francie is the protagonist and first person narrator of the novel. As a young girl, Francie grows up without a father, living with her mentally unstable mother, Elaine, in Portland, Oregon. When she is just eight years old, her mother suffers yet another psychotic break. Fearing for Francie's safety, Elaine's sister, Minnie, and brother-in-law, Stan, admit her to a mental facility, and invite Francie to live with them in Los Angeles, California. Terrified of planes, Francie insists on taking the train south. Before her journey, she stays with her babysitter, Shrina. While at Shrina's, Francie becomes enamored with her butterfly lampshade. On the morning she is meant to leave, Francie finds that one of the butterflies has fallen off the pattern and become real in her water glass. Feeling the significance of the moment, Francie swallows the butterfly.

Years later, Francie continues to wonder about the mystery of...