Sweeping Up The Heart

Sweeping Up the Heart
By Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow Books, 2019. Fiction.

Amelia Albright wants to spend her spring break on vacation in Florida like the other kids in her school, but her college professor father is emotionally distant and rejects the idea as too loud and too touristy. Instead he suggests they just have a quiet spring break at home, except he's always at work (even on break) leaving Amelia to escape the quiet, lonely house by visiting the art studio where she quickly befriends Casey the visiting nephew of the studio owner. When Casey claims to see the spirit of Amelia's long-dead mother she's not sure she believes him, but, what if he's right?

This is a short, tightly written novel that slowly unfolds and builds to a quiet climax. This is the kind of book where nothing really seems out of place and every word seems intentional. Henkes exhibits a profound understanding of what it feels like to be caught between love and loss, childhood and adulthood, and all the other in-betweens that occupy our thoughts. An exquisite introspective read.

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