A Place to Shine

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)