Grief and healing
Quila is grieving her mother, while the arrival of Celia helps Quila and her father become a family again.
Book details
Natalie Kinsey-Warnock - Author
This is a family-centred story about grief, unexpected belonging and a difficult question: should love, biological connection or a child’s established home decide where she belongs?
Quila MacFarlane is devastated by the death of her mother, especially now that it’s just her and her father on Devils Rock where her father is the lighthouse keeper. They can’t leave and almost no one ever comes to visit them. But the morning after a storm, something floats ashore that changes their lives forever: Two small mattresses strapped together, and inside, a baby! They name her Cecelia, which means “a gift from the sea,” and call her Celia. She makes them a family again–and helps heal the hurt left by Quila’s mother’s passing. Two years later, though, another stranger arrives, one who changes everything all over again: A woman named Margaret, come looking for the final resting place of her sister, whose ship had gone down in a storm two years before. Her sister’s baby had never been found, either, she explains, and now she has no family of her own. Could this be Celia’s aunt? Will Quila have to give up Celia so Margaret can have her own family back? A gripping tale full of love, loss, and healing by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, author of many wonderful books for young readers.
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Sign in for personalised guidanceThis is a family-centred story about grief, unexpected belonging and a difficult question: should love, biological connection or a child’s established home decide where she belongs?
Quila is grieving her mother, while the arrival of Celia helps Quila and her father become a family again.
Celia becomes part of Quila and her father’s household, while Margaret may be Celia’s aunt and wants her own family back.
The storm, a baby found at sea, a mother’s death and possible separation from a loved child deserve attention; responses may depend on a reader’s experiences of loss or family change.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the current material supports only a cautious reading; another book-specific source is still needed.
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