The Summer of Letting Go

December 23, 2013
Francesca Schnell goes by Frankie and has avoided the water ever since her brother drowned four years ago. But odd things are happening this summer: she thinks her father's having an affair; she has a guilty crush on her best friend's new boyfriend; and she's hired to look after a rambunctious four-year-old, also named Frankie, who loves the water. Not only does Frankie look like Francesca's brother, he also was born right around the time of his death, and she can't help wondering if the two events are somehow linked. It makes sense that a grieving Francesca would be sensitive to signs and portents, but Polisner (The Pull of Gravity) overemphasizes the coincidences, adding a distracting layer to an already plot-heavy book. No device is necessary to explain the bond between the two Frankies, and the mysticism risks overshadowing the real story: nearly-16-year-old Francesca's reentry into a wider life and the way it builds to a confrontation with the withdrawn but overprotective mother who seems to blame Francesca for her brother's death. Ages 12âup. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

February 15, 2014
Four years after her younger brother, Simon, drowned in the ocean, Francesca Schnell meets a child she thinks might be his reincarnation. Maybe everything happens for a reason. Following the woman with whom she suspects her father is having an affair leads Francesca to a country club where she meets--and rescues from an ill-advised dive into a pool--4-year-old Frankie Schyler. As she gets to know "Frankie Sky" and his kind but inattentive mother, Francesca begins to see connections between Frankie and her own brother and to wonder if there is a spiritual explanation for the similarities between the two. Unfortunately--or is it fortunately after all?--the only person Francesca can talk to about reincarnation is her best friend Lisette's very charming, very taken boyfriend, Bradley. And there's nobody, really, with whom Francesca can share her deepest secret: Simon's death was Francesca's fault. This is a quiet story about miracles and relationships, and Francesca has something to learn from each person whose life touches hers--even the neighbor her father keeps visiting on the sly. The prose is gentle but evocative, and Frankie Sky's childlike exuberance and occasional misconceptions add heart and humor. Some long-standing family conflicts are resolved very quickly, but the story never comes off as saccharine or simplistic. Both hopeful and careful--like Francesca herself. (Fiction. 12-16)

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February 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-With gentleness and thoroughness, Polisner probes the wounds of a family rocked by the drowning death of one of their own, four-year-old Simon. The story begins four years after Simon's death, the summer Frankie turns 15. The beach beckons, but Frankie is cemented in fear and guilt. She believes she is responsible for Simon's death. While Frankie's loyal BFF, Lisette, is wrapped up in her new boyfriend, Frankie has a lot of time to call her own, so she takes on a babysitting job for the emotionally wounded young mother of a four-year-old boy who shares the protagonist's name. Events in little Frankie's short life and his personality bear an eerie resemblance to Simon's, so much so that big Frankie begins to wonder if Simon has been reincarnated. Polisner has a keen understanding of the suffering, maturing teen psyche; Frankie's fragility and self-doubt are heartbreaking in their realism. Her guilt is compounded by the unhealthy coping mechanisms of her parents and by her own distress at having a crush on Lisette's boyfriend. There are no easy answers, but over the course of the summer, Frankie learns the value of believing in something bigger than herself. First-rate realistic fiction with plenty of heart.-Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Libraries, NC

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 28, 2014
Francesca Schnell, nicknamed Frankie, is a 15-year-old girl tormented by guilt over the death of her little brother, Simon, who drowned four years earlier when she was supposed to be watching him. Her devastated, withdrawn mother seems to blame her for Simon’s death, and Francesca suspects her father is having an affair. But a babysitting job for a little boy, also called Frankie, offers a path to healing and forgiveness, and Francesca even wonders if he is her brother reincarnated. Sands’s narration is excellent. Her youthful voice is a perfect match for teenage Francesca, and every word is full of heartfelt emotion, particularly when Francesca is upset and her voice trembles. Sands also creates distinctive voices for the other characters: Francesca’s perky best friend, Lisette; Lisette’s deep-voice boyfriend Bradley (whom Francesca has a crush on); Frankie, a bubbly boy; and Frankie’s mom, who has a bright, melodic voice. Teens and lovers of well-written coming-of-age YA fiction will want to give this one a listen. Ages 12–up. An Algonquin Young Readers hardcover.

July 1, 2014
Francesca, who blames herself for her younger brother Simon's drowning death four years ago, becomes a mother's helper for four-year-old boy Frankie, who she believes may be Simon's reincarnation. This possibility is ultimately not resolved--Polisner poignantly focuses instead on Francesca's emotional development and her need for connection with others, including her still-grieving parents and the best friend whose boyfriend she covets.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)