The Book Mistresses​​

Flight Behavior
Climate Change:
Overarching message of the book, using the Monarch butterfly migration as the vehicle for the 'discussion'
brought in sub themes of science and religion, class differences (economics) including education levels, and the philosophical questions of 'Why do we believe what we believe? And how is it that two people can look at the exact same set of circumstances and see two completely different things?... one person's beautiful miracle is another person's ecological disaster.' [opening questions from an NPR interview with author about this book]
Was the author 'preachy'? Different viewpoints on that. Some in the group thought she went a bit overboard in certain situations (ie: thrift shop, warehouse scene) but others agreed that by using the process of 'educating' Dellarobia, it wasn't ever condescending. Dellarobia had the 'insider view' of her townspeople so she was able to see from both sides as she learned.

Dellarobia and her evolution:
Telling the story from Dellarobia's viewpoint allowed her to present the other side of the story while she, in turn, was taking in all this new information from the visiting scientists, learning and growing as a person
Dellarobia was so hard on herself but by the end had finally made some of the changes she constantly beat herself up about through the rest of the book (quitting smoking, going back to school, leaving Cub)
Dellarobia was a fantastic mother - almost every thought was about her children first (except for the opening scene, of course!). Everyone agreed her relationship with Preston was pretty special - Cordie is a bit too young for that same type of relationship to have fostered yet, but Dellarobia was very aware of her youngest's emerging personality.
Her relationship with Hester evolved as well - from hostility and feeling left out and un-nurtured, to gradually gaining some insight and understanding into why Hester is the way she is, seeing her strengths and not just her weaknesses. Hester also had some good insights into Dellarobia's character.

Beautiful writing:
Some had a hard time getting into the novel but eventually got caught up in it (for many, that happened with Dr. Byron showed up). For others, they were hooked from the opening line. All appreciated the author's ability to make these amazing analogies and connections, her sense of humor throughout the book, her beautiful descriptions and her way of making you feel for the characters (including the butterflies and the town). No one had any character that they didn't like - while all were flawed in some way, they were all 'real' and likeable or at least understandable in some way.
The first line: 'A certain feeling comes from throwing your good life away and it is one part rapture.' The author said: "I believe that the first sentence of a novel should make a promise that the book will keep and, that's the question. Why is it that we do things that we know are going to cost us dearly in the long-run but we still do them in the short run.' I believe that that question isn't just about what Dellarobia was planning on doing, but can also be cast wider - about climate change, for example. Why do we do things that we know will impact future generations in a negative way, but we still do them because it's easier/more gratifying/cheaper/etc in the short run.
The author has 2 science degrees and indicated that part of her mission for the book was to include some real science and information on methods in science - for example, she says she wanted the novel to be about the difference between correlation and causation, something she addresses in different ways throughout the book. She wanted to do it in a non-threatening way so some people who are afraid of science might read the book and not realize that they're being educated along the way. She says she did a ton of research, went to the site in Mexico, worked with leading Monarch biologists.
We didn't get around to favorite quotes, but I had dog-eared probably 25 pages, at least, that had such wonderful or beautiful or striking lines or paragraphs. One that really does it for me is when Dellarobia is thinking back that Dr. Byron changed the course of Preston's life at that moment when he first was there for dinner and declared her son 'a scientist'. She thinks, "You never knew which split second might be the zigzag bolt dividing all that went before from everything that comes next."

This is not really in the top 3, but just wanted to mention favorite characters. Sandra's was - Hester! She appreciated her feisty nature and even though she was abrupt, didn't give over to being understanding or nurturing, and was so black and white about things, she was smart, nailed it with Dellarobia, and was true to herself. I had a hard time picking between Preston and Ovid Byron - I loved them both. Lots of the ladies went with Dr. Byron, too.