Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Summer of Letting Go
    The Summer of Letting Go
    The Summer of Letting Go
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Summer of Letting Go

    Written by Gae Polisner

    Narrated by Tara Sands

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateMar 25, 2014
    ISBN9781622313310
    The Summer of Letting Go
    Author

    Gae Polisner

    GAE POLISNER is the award-winning author of In Sight of Stars, The Memory of Things, The Summer of Letting Go, The Pull of Gravity, and Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me. She lives on Long Island with her husband, two sons, and a suspiciously-fictional looking dog. When Gae isn't writing, you can find her in a pool or the open waters off Long Island. She's still hoping that one day her wetsuit will turn her into a superhero.

    Related to The Summer of Letting Go

    Related audiobooks

    YA Coming of Age For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Mums Without Mums

      Mar 10, 2020

      Having a child is a pivotal moment in any woman’s life. But this milestone can be hard for those who have lost their own mothers. Naturally, most women will seek advice from someone who has done it before, particularly when it comes to raising thei

      3 min read

    • Article

      Elsa IN HER ELEMENT

      May 12, 2019

      Elsa IN HER ELEMENT
      8 min read

    • Article

      Summer Thrills

      Aug 5, 2019

      Summer Thrills
      3 min read

    • Article

      Down To Earth

      Oct 28, 2021

      MY BIG THANKSGIVING DAY blessings are easy to count. I have two daughters and a Jack Russell who keep me close. A tribe of siblings and a mother who love me and one another. An overgrown backyard that invites flora and fauna to come out of hiding. An

      1 min read

    • Article

      Book

      Jun 17, 2021

      Book
      3 min read

    • Article

      4 Delightful New Books For Middle-grade Readers

      Jun 7, 2018

      History, fantasy, humor, and drama mingle in these four wonderful new books for middle-grade readers – out just in time for summer reading.

      3 min read

    • Article

      'Win Me Something' Is Full Of Little Moments That Pack A Big Emotional Punch

      Oct 31, 2021

      Kyle Lucia Wu's debut follows a young Chinese American woman who takes a job as a nanny to a wealthy white family and never feels like she fits in, even though she bonds with her precocious charge.

      3 min read

    • Article

      What A Week!

      Nov 23, 2021

      What A Week!
      2 min read

    • Article

      Witchy Ways To Prepare For Autumn

      Aug 4, 2020

      Tudorbeth is a hereditary practitioner of witchcraft and has written over 40 books on the subject. Her latest book, A Spellbook for the Seasons, is complete with over 100 spells on the seasons and their magical blessings. Here, she shares some of her

      5 min read

    • Article

      Feminism for the Ages: How My Great Grandmother Became a Character in My Novel

      Sep 3, 2021

      Estimated reading time: 11 minutes — In 1892, when my great-grandmother Mary Davies was 20 years old, she took a trip from Topeka, Kansas, to Pontardulais, the village in Wales where her immigrant father had grown up. In 1976, when I was 21, I trave

      7 min read

    • Article

      Managing Muscle Dysmorphia

      Nov 12, 2020

      “One of the biggest things I learned to work on – which massively improved the broken relationship I had with my body – was to talk to myself in a nicer way. When I stopped asking myself questions like, what’s wrong with me? Why aren’t I as lean as h

      1 min read

    • Article

      A Double Life

      Dec 7, 2020

      Sadie is in the kitchen, already dressed in school uniform, fastening the clips on the violin she chose for her most recent birthday, when Gabriela heads downstairs the following morning. Seven years old: how the hell did that happen? Briefly, she wo

      6 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reads

      Dec 30, 2019

      Summer Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Musings On My Father

      Aug 8, 2022

      Musings On My Father
      5 min read

    • Article

      A PRECIOUS Moment In Time

      Jun 17, 2019

      There’s something about Lambrook Hall that always draws me back and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been here. I don’t really care if it’s hundreds, to be honest. I can’t resist it. I’m in the dining room again now. Not the ballroom or the lib

      6 min read

    • Article

      Yellow Is the Color of Choices

      Dec 10, 2023

      For whatever reason, when she sees me each weekend, Megan still hugs me like when she was five. Her skinny arms wrap around my waist, and her eyes squeeze tight like she’s absorbing me into her skin. This is both heartening and heart-wrenching. I wan

      13 min read

    • Article

      For a Good Time, Call

      Sep 30, 2020

      For a Good Time, Call
      15 min read

    • Article

      A Double Life

      Feb 6, 2020

      A Double Life
      10 min read

    • Article

      Who Was My Mother?

      Sep 12, 2019

      Who Was My Mother?
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Summer of Letting Go

    4.5/5

    7 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This book is aimed at the teen market, and the love story component certainly suits that market. But 'The Summer of Letting Go' is such a touching and beautiful story it should be read by everyone. There is a Charlie St. Cloud feel to the story as Franky Schnell tries to deal with the death of her brother, but it differs in the quest to discover the link between Simon and her new charge Frankie Sky. Is Frankie Sky Simon reincarnated, are all the links truly coincidences? These questions and many others around Simon's tragic drowning are woven beautifully around daily life and interesting relationships between the characters. I really enjoyed this book. I was given a copy of this book to read and give my honest opinion.
    • 3/5
      I wanted to read the Summer of Letting Go because it sounded like quite the emotional journey and the tough issue of feeling responsible for your little brother's death had to be something that wasn't easy to overcome. I also was curious where the story would go as to the little boy in this world structure he was really incarnated, or she just placed her grief glasses on in regards to the little Frankie. At first it appears that it is just an easy breezy beach story with Francesca being a third wheel to her best friend Lisette and the new boyfriend Bradley, who Francesca is also crushing on. Talk about drama. I wasn't sure if I could deal with that storyline, but I still stuck with it because I wanted to see how her healing process was going to go. It took a bit for me to connect with Francesca like I wanted to. Her emotions seemed closed off, that she talked about the events and her feelings and it should have had an impact on me, but it didn't for a while. But again, I stuck with it because I wanted to see her relationship with little Frankie who reminds her of Simon, her deceased brother. The idea that her brother was somehow in Frankie Sky was an interesting premise as Simon died on the same day Frankie was born. They act and look in similar ways and there is the love of the frogs. I think that her resolution was what most kept me invested in the story as well Frankie Sky's personality and precociousness. The cheating and lying and mistrust between her and Lisette, her and her family and her dad's possible affair all kept the story moving and drama filled. The best friend relationship though is sacred to me and while I know that things like this happen in the real world I know it is a hot topic and some of my readers can't stand to read about it. I think that the ending felt a bit rushed and wrapped up a little too neatly for all of the mess that was Francesca's life, but I suppose that some readers will write off as fitting for the story. I do think that I saw a lot of growth in Francesca, and her ability to learn to heal and decide the kind of life she wants to live and most importantly to stop blaming herself is really what made this story and was the most memorable looking back. Bottom Line: Emotional but somewhat flawed story of a girl's healing and the little boy who ushers it into her life.
    • 5/5
      4.5 StarsA YA coming-of-age story about grief, moving on, and life's beautiful surprises. This book is well-written and the water is a character in itself. The characters are realistic and even though this novel is set during contemporary times, the story is timeless (at times, I imagined it taking place in earlier decades). A really touching book.Net Galley Feedback
    • 5/5
      A child’s guilt can be overwhelming and so it is with fifteen year old Francesca (Frankie) Schnell. SummerOfLettingGoFour years ago, while at the beach with her parents, her four year old brother, Simon, drowned. She and Simon were building a sand castle. She went to the beach blanket where her parents were sleeping, looking for food. When she turned around her brother was at the water’s edge, then he was caught by a wave. Frankie was stunned into inaction. Her father, hearing her scream, runs into the water but Simon couldn’t be saved. Frankie hasn’t swam since.It is four years later. Frankie’s guilt is still in full force. She thinks her mother, who ignores her and spends most of her time at a foundation created in Simon’s memory, blames her and hates her. She’s jealous of her girlfriend, Lisette, who is gorgeous and has the boyfriend that Frankie yearns for.Having snuck into the local country club pool (for reasons I won’t tell you), she sees a four year old boy dive into the deep end of the pool and look like he’s going to drown. She is paralyzed into inaction and Peter, the lifeguard, jumps in. As the boy’s mother drags him away, they almost bump into Frankie and the little boy asks “Who she?” Frankie introduces herself. It seems that his name in Frankie as well.The next day, Francesca is called into the office of the pool’s owner. Afraid she’s going to be arrested for sneaking into the pool, she’s relieved when she finds out Frankie’s mother wants her to be a mother’s helper and help with Frankie during the summer.All of this would generate a so-so book, but there’s more that pulled me into this book, The Summer of Letting Go. Little Frankie is the same age as Simon was when he drowned. Frankie looks like Simon, likes frogs just like Simon and has that same fearlessness. There’s more that I won’t tell you about.Polisner explores the possibility of reincarnation/transmigration. Is it possible that Simon’s soul migrated into little Frankie? An interesting possibility. She also explores how people cope with pain. Each person in the Schnell household has dealt dramatically differently with Simon’s death. And finally, Polisner deals with a young girl’s self image and self doubt. Is Frankie pretty, especially compared to Lisette? Would any boy like her, especially the one she likes…who happens to be Lisette’s boyfriend?The characters are all clear cut. They each have distinct personalities. I think it’s hard sometimes to create a four year old character, but little Frankie is cute, exasperating, funny, sad, just like a four year old and his sidekick dog, Potato, is just as cute.There is a lot to think about in The Summer of Letting Go but Polisner does a fine job of putting all together in a cohesive, interesting, fun read. More that just a beach read, this book will make you think….which is what a good book should do. So, don’t let this summer go by without reading The Summer of Letting Go.
    • 5/5
      I won this arc from goodreads and I'm glad I did because if I had Not I probably never would have read this little gem. Wonderful young adult novel. A young girl dealing with the painful loss of her little brother and the guilt she felt from his death.
    • 4/5
      For Francesca "Frankie" Schnell, "there are never any good summers, only survivable ones." This summer promises to be the same. She begins it with a huge crush on her best friend's boyfriend, a sneaking suspicion that her father is having an affair with a neighbor, her mother deeply entrenched in her charity work, and the ever-present guilt she carries with her over the death of her brother, Simon, four years earlier.

      Then she meets Frankie Schyler (aka Frankie Skye), a four-year-old boy who bares a striking resemblance to her deceased brother. When the boy's mother offers Francesca a mother's helper job for the summer, she feels so drawn to the younger Frankie that she can't refuse. Soon she discovers that not only does the boy look like her brother, but she begins to believe that Simon is a part of Frankie Skye.

      With the help of the ever-so-honest Frankie Skye, an unexpected shoulder to cry on, a heart-breaking confession, and the attention of a special boy, Francesca learns to let go of the guilt that should never have been hers to begin with.

      Polisner has crafted a story that gently enfolds the reader in it's arms, and then reveals a character's heart that is so broken that we feel the pain ourselves. As with her freshman novel THE PULL OF GRAVITY, Polisner creates authentic, fleshed-out characters whom we love from the very first page. Even secondary characters get a chance to shine.

      Frankie and Frankie will stay with you for a long time.