Skip to main content
Digital Audiobook
Butterfly Heart by Moa Backe Åstot

Listen to a sample

00:00
00:00

What to expect

Vilda takes life as it comes, talking for hours about everything and nothing with her best friend, Alma. It’s never been a big deal to Vilda that her mother’s side of the family is Sámi and her father’s is Swedish, but as summer vacation starts, she wants to know more about her indigenous roots—and she’s looking forward to her beloved grandfather, Áddjá, teaching her the Sámi language.

 

Then Áddjá has a fatal heart attack and, overnight, Vilda loses not only a person she loves most in the world, but a crucial link to her history and identity. It’s disorienting in ways deep and superficial: she doesn’t know what to wear, what to say, or how Alma and her friends should react. And all this comes while her body is changing, and she’s swamped by confusing thoughts and feelings about an older boy she meets at her grandfather’s funeral.

 

Feeling whole seems impossibly hard to reach.

 

Butterfly Heart is a tender, heartwarming story about love, grief, and the right to define who you are.

User Reviews

No reviews yet.

Details

Author
Moa Backe Åstot
Narrator
Laura Knight Keating
Duration
5 hours 2 minutes
Release Date
28 October 2025
ISBN
9798899735158
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Recorded Books, Inc.
Genre
Children’s / Teenage fiction: General fiction, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General fiction, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Death and bereavement, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General fiction, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Emotions, moods and feelings

Synopsis

Vilda takes life as it comes, talking for hours about everything and nothing with her best friend, Alma. It’s never been a big deal to Vilda that her mother’s side of the family is Sámi and her father’s is Swedish, but as summer vacation starts, she wants to know more about her indigenous roots—and she’s looking forward to her beloved grandfather, Áddjá, teaching her the Sámi language. Then Áddjá has a fatal heart attack and, overnight, Vilda loses not only a person she loves most in the world, but a crucial link to her history and identity. It’s disorienting in ways deep and superficial: she doesn’t know what to wear, what to say, or how Alma and her friends should react. And all this comes while her body is changing, and she’s swamped by confusing thoughts and feelings about an older boy she meets at her grandfather’s funeral. Feeling whole seems impossibly hard to reach. Butterfly Heart is a tender, heartwarming story about love, grief, and the right to define who you are.

About xigxag

xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.

There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.

Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.

Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.