Sienna has always been different, leaving her with few friends and a troubled soul. She can see things in the past that others can't, and has an uncanny connection to things left behind, and people of the past. It is this connection, through dreams and visions that draws her family to move to a small vacation town in Maine. Sienna's mom is hopeful that this move will help Lucca, Sienna's brother, to begin to talk again. Lucca, a selective mute hasn't talked for a very long time, creating stress and worry in the family. Through Sienna's connections to the past, she is looking for a place to belong, and an answer to Lucca's problem. Sienna is glad for the move from Brooklyn to a small Maine coastal town. Because of her ability to see the past, she is considered weird and has trouble making friends. Set in the summer before eighth grade, she hopes the new environment will help her preschool brother talk. She blames herself because once when she was frustrated with him she got mad and told him to be quiet. The house they move to has secrets that slowly disclose themselves to Sienna. She finds herself experiencing the same things Joshua did in WWII. When she writes with an old pen she found in the house, she doesn’t write as herself, she writes as Joshua’s sister. Joshua and Sarah lived in the house during the 1930’s and 1940’s. When Sienna discovers that Sarah wouldn’t talk either, she transports herself back to the house to get Sarah to talk. As she does this and talks to Joshua she discovers the key to getting Lucca to talk. LaFleur continues to show her ability to write about sensitive things. This is every bit as good as Love, Aubrey. Grade 4-6 (PSC Review)
What do You think about Listening For Lucca (2013)?
A terrific ghost story. I'd recommend it for kids who love Mary Downing Hahn.
—vesnaa007
