Darcyfitz05
Nine-year-old Persephone and her seven-year-old sister, Athena (Thea), spend their summer at a new house in Barry's Bay bought by their parents, forty-year-old Arthur and Diane. Even though they are at the summer house, Arthur and Diane are constantly working and doing job-related tasks for their positions as professors. Because the parents are always locked away working, Persephone is left to take care of her little sister most of the time. It is incredibly difficult for Persephone because Thea is autistic, struggles with severe anxiety, and absolutely hates loud noises.While at the summer house, they meet their next-door neighbors, the Florek family, who already live in Barry's Bay full-time. The mother, Sue, is thirty-four years old-younger than Diane and Arthur-and is a single mom after her husband divorced and left her. Sue has two sons, ten-year-old Charlie and nine-year-old Sam. The story follows Persephone as she carries the heavy burden of managing Thea's sensory needs and anxiety, while finding a much-needed support system in Sue, Charlie, and Sam next door.