Acquire The Summer Of Letting Go Designed By Gae Polisner Rendered As Manuscript

even the ocean can drown our souls,
This book could have been one big cliche, It could have been condensing and schmaltzy,
Thank God it wasn't, Instead, it was warm, real, and a beautiful journey, The slow burn of hope, ignited by a precocious little boy, brought life to a family living in the shadow of devistating loss,
There were interesting echoes in this book, It was reminiscent of Sarah Dessen in that the teens were written with reverence and respect, and were not caricatures of Teen archetypes, I also saw John Green's ability to write angst and selfblame without becoming annoying, What Gae Polisner did that these others aren't quite as polished in, was move your heart without manipulating your emotions overtly, The subtlety of this book is lovely, There is some resolution, but not everything is fixed at the end,
Also, as almost an afterthought, I really liked how the parents in this book had to learn how to be parents again, This is definitely a book about becoming human again after tragedy, So recommend. Beautifully written. I love the supporting characters who could not love Frankie Sky and all of main character Frankie's thoughts,

originally posted on sitelinkRather Be Reading Blog

I told myself I needed to take a break from books about grief and then I started The Summer of Letting Go and could not let it go.
Immediately I felt for Francesca, aka Frankie, aka Beans, who is still distraught over the death of her baby brother four years ago, She believes its her fault that he drowned in the ocean, and her moms incredible coldness toward her solidifies that her belief is the truth, With her dad secretly cavorting with their neighbor, Frankies family is falling apart and she doesnt know how to fix it, She loves her dad and wants to believe her accusations are false so she follows their neighbor to the country club where an unexpected little fellow pops into her life Frankie Sky an adorableyear old who is so strikingly like her little brother that it takes Frankie some time to recover.


It seems that our Frankie has also struck a chord with Frankie Sky because he wants her to be his babysitter for the summer this works out in the best interest of many people.
Our Frankie needs to be kept occupied while her best friend, Lizette, is constantly spending time with her boyfriend and Frankie Skys mom has been stunted by her own grief and is not always entirely capable of taking care of her son.


Theres a lot of heavy sadness in The Summer of Letting Go, for sure, but bright lights like Frankies personality, enthusiasm for life, and his fitting dialogue paired with this anchor created by Frankie and Lizettes friendship let so much hope into the story that I could not put it down.
Even as Frankie went over and over again in her head the possibility of Frankie Sky being a reincarnation of her brother, as unbelievable as that was, I felt myself working through it alongside her as she was finally allowing herself come to terms with this tragic event that broke her family four years before.
Atyears old, she was making an active decision to be happy and move forward and live her life, This could not be easy for anyone to do, especially after watching her parents struggle in different ways as well,

The Summer of Letting Go is about those little miracles in our lives sometimes a period of time, or in this case a person who open our eyes to the past and also maybe without them knowing nudge us toward the future.
Frankie Sky was that person for Frankie and I loved watching as their friendship grew over the summer, How protective she was of him, but at the same time how Frankie Sky helped Frankie to let go a bit and have faith in people, in nature, and in life.


I have to mention the incredible best friendship between Frankie and Lizette as well, Its not easy when you want your best friends boyfriend, and its especially difficult when you feel like your best friend is everything you arent, Its an interesting summer for the two of them because they dont spend a lot of time together throughout the story, but for Frankie, Lizette is on her mind a lot.
So many changes are already blossoming between them and I admired the loyalty and devotion these two had for one another, Even when things got tough and situations got messy and Frankies grief drove her to a lonely place, Lizette was there, Their differences never drove them from one another, but they also didnt push and knew the importance of space,

There hasnt been a book that broke my heart and put it back together quite like this one has, The Summer of Letting Go is so much about confronting truths from the past even when they are uncomfortable and finding the strength to heal, Its about those small moments and people who come into our lives and turn everything upside down, teaching us more about ourselves then we ever could have thought.
Its about remembering those warm summer days at the beach with your best friend, the speed of your heart racing when the boy of your dreams looks your way, and making your home a safe and welcoming place once again.
nb: I received an Advance Copy from the publisher via NetGalley

Its summertime, to paraphrase the song, and the livin aint easy, not for Francesca “Frankie” Schnell.
Its the summer she turns sixteen, and its supposed to be filled with frivolity and magic, but Frankie is sullen, Shes healthy, yes. Shes reasonably pretty, in a stringbean, notbusty way, and she has her best friend, Lizette Sutter to share adventures,

The first problem is named Bradley Stephenson, Hes hot, and hes Lizettes boyfriend, This means Lizette is always busy, Its even worse, because Frankie has always had a huge crush on Brad, The situationeven when the three go out as friendsis nigh on untenable,

Problem two is that Frankie is convinced her father is having an affair with the sexy woman across the street,

Problem threeproblem three is the killer, During a family beach outing four years ago, Frankies little brother, Simon, was swept away in a strong current when Frankie was supposed to be watching him, She just walked back to the family beach blanket to get snacks, and when she turned back around, Simon was out in the water, She did her best to save him, but it was for naught, Ever since that horrible afternoon, Frankie has felt crushing guilt that it was her fault, and that her mother has ever since blamed her for Simons death,

The bright spot in Frankies life is the parttime job she falls into, She takes on a role as a mothers helper, The little boy is also named Frankie, which amuses

him to no end, Young Frankie is a handful, He loves living dangerously, climbing trees, diving into the deep end of the pool, swinging impossibly high on the playground swing set, Hes an energetic and smart little boy, and he looks exactly like Simon, Hes even the age Simon was when he died,

As if juggling all the drama of her best friend, her best friends lustedafter boyfriend, her fathers apparent affair, and the everpresent guilt about Simons death werent enough tsuris for one girl, Francesca begins to wonder if there isnt some sort of connection between Frankie and Simon, something beyond her comprehension.
As she investigates, her world becomes an EtchaSketch, with clearly demarcated lines and forms, which disappear as her summer moves toward its ending, as if The Universe shakes it.
Then new lines and forms appear, and Francescas world changes,

This book is totally addictive I read it in one sitting, In Francescawho narratesGae Polisner has created a young woman who cant seem to catch a break, Circumstance torments her, and all she wants is normalcy in her life, the normalcy she used to have, She needs it in order that she can grieve properly, then let go of her guilt, She needs it now.

I also like that Ms, Polisner gave Francesca the surname “Schnell,” which means “quickly” in German, Shes suffered enough, and Francesca wants the status quo with her mother to change quickly, She wants her grief to resolve itself quickly, She wants a boyfriend quickly, She wants answers to difficult questions quickly,

And by the books end, things do change, The ending isnt necessarily what I expected or wanted, but by damn, its the ending that fits, The malleability of the human souland the innocent spark of a little kidbring that ending to fruition, “The Summer of Letting Go” is the perfect title for this book, Its a gem, filled with the mixed emotions we all feel: joy and pain, hope and despair, all contrapuntal, and the relief we feel when we let go the negative.
Francesca finds her place on The Universes EtchaSketch, Heres hoping we all do, as well,

Most Highly Recommended
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