Forgiving Bessie by Jody Overend

At sixteen and a half, Bessie is now on the verge of womanhood, with one more year of home-schooling to go. It’s time to choose a path into the future that will affect the rest of her life.

But how can she do that with the burden of guilt she still feels from the catastrophic accident that took the lives of her beloved Jason and Ash? To compound her sadness, she has lost the companionship of Leif, the handsome Danish carpenter who befriended her last year, and who has been deported. Did he ever care for her or was he just filling in time? Once again, Bessie feels lost and alone, unable to trust herself.

Then an alluring stranger, the Cuban-Canadian Arturo Rodrigues, arrives in Ravenspond just days before another unthinkable tragedy strikes. A tragedy that will send ripples throughout the MacIntyre family, and put her sister Leila’s life in grave danger.

Bessie wonders, does she even deserve to feel happy again. And why is she so drawn to Arturo? What is it about him that feels so familiar? The truth is one she could never have imagined, even in a million lifetimes.