I bought The Summer of Letting Go a few months ago but, as it often happens, didn't get around to reading it until yesterday. And then I read it straight through in one sitting. It's that compelling. The plot is wonderfully, deceptively simple--fifteen-year-old Francesca (Frankie) Schnell and her parents are still grieving the drowning death of her little brother four years earlier. Through happenstance, she meets a four-year-old boy who looks an awful lot like her brother, loves the same things as her brother, and shares enough in common with him that Frankie starts wondering if perhaps he is the reincarnation of her brother. With a story like this, there is a danger of going too far in either direction--making the coincidences so far-fetched that the reader can't believe them or so subtle that one couldn't find any meaning. Author Gae Polisner has found the perfect balance: the layers of coincidence are beautiful, sometimes heart-wrenching, and always absolutely believable. One of the things I admire about the writing is how deftly Polisner develops a sub-plot with Frankie's father that parallels what she's going through with a friend. There's growth without any heavy-handedness or preaching. Her dialogue and characterizations are spot-on authentic and delightful. We've all experienced loss. This is one of the finest fictional looks at moving through grief that I've read. Check it out. A sweet, gentle story about a family coping with the death of their younger child. Francesca (aka Frankie) blames herself for her brother Simon's drowning and her mother's apparent intense dislike of her. Her BFF is very involved with a boyfriend,on whom Frankie has an intense crush; so Frankie takes a summer babysitting job. Her new charge is Frankie Skye, who not only looks amazingly like Frankie's brother, but also shares many of Simon's passions. It's not too much of a stretch that she begins to wonder about reincarnation; Frankie Skye was born the same day her brother died. Frankie is trying to move forward with her life, while dealing with tremendous guilt. Things at home are not going well--this is a family in distress. Some elements of this story are very strong, but others (mostly too many sub-plots, some of the mannerisms/speech of Frankie Skye, Frankie's occasional inattentiveness to her charge) were a distraction.
What do You think about Summer Of Letting Go (2014)?
Lovely, well-crafted coming of age + grief book with just a touch of mysticism. Review soon.
—lily
A lovely beach read. Perfect story of finding yourself and forgiving yourself.
—elha
It was a good story, cute, but also predictable.
—Katelove
Full review to come closer to pub date :)
—msmolskis
