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A review by thewanderingbibliotaph
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman
2.0
I have rather mixed feelings on this book. I studied monarchs for two years in college, so I was immediately drawn to this book and what it stands for. Sara includes a number of facts about monarchs and their natural history, which I really appreciate, and I enjoyed reading about her travels, both the struggles and the triumphs.
While I appreciated her raw emotions in her story as they related to animal deaths or habitat, there was also a tone of hatred and condescension that really bothered me. Some excerpts talked as though cars are horrible things or the drivers are heartless because an animal is accidentally killed. Sie describes not being able to forgive those who destroyed pollinator habitat, even though she was describing farmers and general civilians who likely just didn't know.
Additionally, she goes on political rants about topics that, in my opinion, are a complete tangent to the story. Meanwhile, she feels entitled to break rules and camp where she pleases, even getting an attitude with those who call her out for camping where she shouldn't be.
While she often says her behavior or anger were unjustified, these rants and entitled moments made me want to stop reading. If I, a fellow scientist and monarch lover, wanted to stop reading because of Sara's behavior, how much more would a butterfly novice be inclined to not only put the book away, but to ignore Sara's greater message of conservation?
While I appreciated her raw emotions in her story as they related to animal deaths or habitat, there was also a tone of hatred and condescension that really bothered me. Some excerpts talked as though cars are horrible things or the drivers are heartless because an animal is accidentally killed. Sie describes not being able to forgive those who destroyed pollinator habitat, even though she was describing farmers and general civilians who likely just didn't know.
Additionally, she goes on political rants about topics that, in my opinion, are a complete tangent to the story. Meanwhile, she feels entitled to break rules and camp where she pleases, even getting an attitude with those who call her out for camping where she shouldn't be.
While she often says her behavior or anger were unjustified, these rants and entitled moments made me want to stop reading. If I, a fellow scientist and monarch lover, wanted to stop reading because of Sara's behavior, how much more would a butterfly novice be inclined to not only put the book away, but to ignore Sara's greater message of conservation?