Sunny

Sunny

Jason Reynolds

Publisher

Atheneum books for young readers

Publication Year

2018

ISBN

9781481450218

Pages

176 pages

Genre

realism

Format

short story

Item Type

Nonfiction

Annotation

Sunny tries to shine despite his troubled past in this third novel in the critically acclaimed Track series from National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds. Ghost. Patina. Sunny. Lu. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds, with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics. They all have a lot of lose, but they all have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Sunny is the main character in this novel, the third of four books in Jason Reynold’s electrifying middle grade series. Sunny is just that—sunny. Always ready with a goofy smile and something nice to say, Sunny is the chillest dude on the Defenders team. But Sunny’s life hasn’t always been sun beamy-bright. You see, Sunny is a murderer. Or at least he thinks of himself that way. His mother died giving birth to him, and based on how Sunny’s dad treats him—ignoring him, making Sunny call him Darryl, never “Dad”—it’s no wonder Sunny thinks he’s to blame. It seems the only thing Sunny can do right in his dad’s eyes is win first place ribbons running the mile, just like his mom did. But Sunny doesn’t like running, never has. So he stops. Right in the middle of a race.

Grade Level

6-8; 9-12

Lexile Measure

700L

Diversity Topics

Family Relationships; Family member death; Single parent; single father

Main Character

male teenager

Race/Ethnicities

Black / African-American / Brown-skinned

Awards

Audie Award, 2019, Winner, Middle Grade
Cybils Awards, 2018, Nominee, Middle Grade Fiction

Keywords

track and field; indecisive; running; dancing; proud; emotional; confused

Diversity Impact

indirect

Sunny

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