Summer has begun, the beach beckons—and Francesca Schnell is going nowhere. Four years ago, Francesca’s little brother, Simon, drowned, and Francesca’s the one who should have been watching. Now Francesca is about to turn sixteen, but guilt keeps her stuck in the past. Meanwhile, her best friend, Lisette, is moving on, most recently with the boy Francesca wants but can’t have. At loose ends, Francesca trails her father, who may be having an affair, to the local country club. There she meets four-year-old Frankie Sky, a little boy who bears an almost eerie resemblance to Simon, and Francesca begins to wonder if it’s possible Frankie could be his reincarnation. Knowing Frankie leads Francesca to places she thought she’d never dare to go, and it begins to seem possible to forgive herself, grow up, and even fall in love—whether or not she solves the riddle of Frankie Sky.
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“Four
years after Francesca’s small brother, Simon, drowns, she begins
falling apart. Narrator Tara Sands tracks Francesca’s courageous summer
journey as she confronts an array of fears…Confusion clouds Francesca’s
already complicated emotions when she agrees to babysit Frankie Sky, a
four-year-old boy born on the day of her brother’s death. Is this
coincidence, or is Frankie her brother reincarnated? Nearing the story’s
climax, Sands expresses the terrible anger that Francesca has denied
for years. Even stronger than this crescendo of a performance is Sands’s
portrayal of the active, adorable Frankie Sky. His malapropisms and
misunderstandings counteract Francesca’s pain—winning her heart and
wowing listeners.”
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AudioFile