Description
In this 20th-anniverary edition of the novel by Margaret Buffie, it’s going to be a long, hot summer for 15-year-old Lizzie. Normally a vacation at her grandmother’s northern Manitoba cottage is the highlight of the year, but this summer the whole family is going along, including her new stepfather whom she detests.
To escape the family’s bickering, Lizzie explores a nearby island, where she finds the remains of an old cabin and uncovers a pair of spectacles. When she tries on the old glasses she is surprised to find herself watching a woman and girl from the past.
Lizzie is determined to find out who these ghosts are, and why they are appearing to her. Enlisting the help of her grandmother’s teenage neighbor, Alex, she puts together clues about the ghosts’ identities and in doing so, finds a way to help her estranged family reunite. It’s a compelling story, carrying young readers from the present to the past and back again.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 12 to 14
- Grade:
- 7 to 9
Awards
- Runner-up, Best Books for Young Adults, American Library Association
- Winner, Notable Book Award, Young Adult Fiction, Canadian Library Association
- Short-listed, Ruth Schwartz Children’s Book Award
- Runner-up, Book of the Year, Canadian Library Association
- Winner, Young Adult Book Award, Canadian Library Association
Editorial Review
In her linking of the mystery of the past and the dilemma of the present in the conclusion, Margaret Buffie brings the novel to a satisfactory and realistic ending. This is a first-rate novel for readers 11 and up with a different and distinct Manitoba flavor.
— Winnipeg Free Press
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
Annotations
Librarian review
Who Is Frances Rain? Twentieth Anniversary Edition
Originally published in 1987 by Kids Can Press (Our Choice 1988/1989).
Source: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Best Books for Kids & Teens. 2008.
