A Place to Shine

by Marie Arnold

Overview

Ten-year-old Sunny Williams is resilient—she knows this because it’s what her beloved grandma, Nanna, always tells her. So when Nanna is put into a care home after her memory loss issues get worse and social workers intend to put Sunny and her seven-year-old brother, Miles, into a foster home, she takes charge and hatches a plan for them to avoid getting split up.

Luckily, Sunny also realizes Nanna has left her a message in the form of their favorite story. With the help of their guide (and temporary guardian), Mr. Darrious Evens, and her best friend, Folake, Sunny embarks on a quest to collect the three magical ingredients that are sure to cure Nanna’s dementia and help them find their way home again.

Mr. Evens also happens to be the choir director, and he encourages Sunny, with her beautiful singing voice, to perform in front of the school, even though Nanna isn’t there to cheer her on. Sunny’s quest to fix her nanna will lead her to understand herself and what’s important—and that home can be any place you feel loved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063251755
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/11/2024
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Marie Arnold was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and came to America at the age of seven. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, alongside her extended family. Marie enjoys creating stories full of adventure and wonder that center on girls of color. When she’s not writing, she’s adding to her insanely long Netflix queue and trying not to order pizza. She lives in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of the well-received The Year I Flew Away and I Rise.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/11/2024

After their grandmother, who’s been their guardian ever since the death of their parents in a car accident, is admitted to a nursing home due to her worsening dementia, 10-year-old Sunny Williams and her eight-year-old brother Miles are determined to avoid the foster care system. They wind up staying with their school’s new music teacher and choir director, who, mourning his wife’s death, seems unprepared to care for the siblings. Believing that the cure for her grandmother’s failing memory rests in the pages of her favorite book, Sunny searches Chicago for magical components such as the tears of a gorgon and a seashell kissed by a mermaid, a quest that pushes her boundaries, tests her friendships, and prompts her to face bullies as well as her own fears. This quietly uplifting and hopeful tale by Arnold (I Rise) examines everyday magic, the processing of grief, and the strength of family and community. Memorably rendered characters, most of whom are Black, inhabit Sunny’s world, and her exuberant voice and hyperbolic tendencies add zest to this fanciful read. Ages 8–12. Agent: Adrienne Rosado, Stonesong Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

This quietly uplifting and hopeful tale examines everyday magic, the processing of grief, and the strength of family and community. [Sunny’s] exuberant voice and hyperbolic tendencies add zest to this fanciful read.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Ultimately uplifting. [A] beautiful novel. For fans of Merci Suarez or books by Sharon Draper and Nikki Grimes, this is at once both heartbreaking and bursting with joy. Truly a triumphant read for middle-graders everywhere.” — Booklist

“Sunny is a funny and relatable character, and readers will identify with her gumption and loyalty. Quirky Miles and Folake add another layer of fun to this story, whose pacing and humor make for an enjoyable read. A compelling look at familial support that comes from unexpected people and places.” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for I RISE: "Arnold threads Black history, culture, and current events into her narrative, giving the reader a firsthand view of what it means to be young and Black in New York City today through Ayo’s experiences. A powerful and very engaging story of a strong, determined young lady and a call for social justice and understanding." — School Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

2024-03-23
A 10-year-old Black girl goes on a quest to try to reunite her family.

Sundae Williams lives in Chicago with her little brother, Miles, and Nanna Jo, their grandmother, who’s been losing her memory lately (their parents died in a car accident). Sunny’s walking home with Miles and Folake Musa, her Nigerian American best friend, when the kids notice a police car outside the Williams’ apartment building. They overhear an officer telling a concerned neighbor that Nanna is being taken to a nursing home following a wellness check. Surprisingly, an officer says that the grandchildren have been put in emergency foster care. Before the mix-up can be sorted out and social services show up, the siblings try to secretly live at school. Inspired by her favorite fantasy story, Sunny decides that to save Nanna, they must go on a quest, just like the book’s hero, Luna. When their hiding place is inevitably discovered, Sunny decides (based on a sign connected to the fantasy) that new music teacher Darrious Evens is supposed to help them—and Mr. Evens does ultimately agree to foster them. The siblings must navigate a new living experience while trying to complete their quest. Sunny is a funny and relatable character, and readers will identify with her gumption and loyalty. Quirky Miles and Folake add another layer of fun to this story, whose pacing and humor make for an enjoyable read.

A compelling look at familial support that comes from unexpected people and places. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews