Debut author Alan Barillaro delivers a stirring story about a sensitive young girl who must face that growing up means coming to terms with the things you cannot change – and taking responsibility for the things you can.

Ava’s mum is about to have twins, and the pregnancy isn’t going well. All Ava wants to do is stay by her mother’s side, but instead, she is sent away to stay with her grandparents. Normally, spending time at the lake with Nonna and Nonno is wonderful. But everything is different now. While her mum’s hospital visits are getting serious back home, Ava grapples with anxiety. As summer storms rock the island, electricity goes out at the cabin, and an annoyingly cheerful boy named Cody seems determined to pop up everywhere she goes. Ava can’t be distracted from the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to her mum while she is gone.

When a bird dies in front of her, Ava is sure it is a sign that she is cursed – the last thing she, or her family, needs. But if a curse has been placed on her, there must a way to break it. So Ava makes a deal: If she can take care of two orphaned bird eggs, she will have paid off her debt, and her family will be OK...