The award-winning author of The Truth As Told By Mason Buttle has created another bighearted novel about the special friendship between two children—one with autism who doesn’t speak, and the other who talks a lot—and what happens when one of them goes missing.

Eleven-year-old Aurora Petrequin’s best friend has never spoken a word to her. In fact, Frenchie Livernois doesn’t talk.

Aurora is bouncy, loud, and impulsive—a big old blurter. Making friends has never come easy to her. When Frenchie, who is autistic, silently chose Aurora as his person back in third grade, she was all in. In fact, she chose him back. They make a good team, sharing their love of the natural world in coastal Maine.

In the woods, Aurora and Frenchie encounter a piebald deer, a rare creature with a coat like a patchwork quilt. The piebald is alluring and mysterious. Whenever it appears, Aurora feels compelled to follow.

At school, Aurora looks out for Frenchie, who has been her classmate until this year. One morning, Frenchie doesn’t make it to his classroom. Aurora feels she’s to blame. The entire town begins to search, and everyone wonders: How is it possible that nobody has seen Frenchie? 

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegan (February 15, 2022)
• ISBN-13: 978-0062999368