Listening for Lucca

At night, 13-year-old Siena has dreams about a house overlooking the ocean, as well as wartime imagery including plane crashes and sinking ships; scarier still, visions of the past are bleeding into Siena’s waking life. As a result, Siena has alienated her friends and taken to collecting abandoned objects. Meanwhile, Siena’s three-year-old brother, Lucca, hasn’t spoken in a year and a half, and her parents move the family from Brooklyn to Maine (into a house that resembles the one from Siena’s dreams) in hopes that both children’s behavior will return to normal. But the grand old house on Ocean Drive feels haunted, and although Siena makes new friends, her attention is drawn back to her worries and the discovery that her visions and dreams are tied to Sarah, a girl who lived in the house during WWII. Questions of how Sarah is connected to Siena and whether Lucca will speak again swirl throughout this insightful, delicate tale. LaFleur (Eight Keys) offers an enticing blend of history, mystery, and family, perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (Aug.)