The Trouble With Sunshine

Starred review from December 16, 2024
In a heartfelt novel about adapting and overcoming personal challenges, Méndez (The Beautiful Game) spotlights the camaraderie to be found in difference and the
joys one discovers while learning to fit in.
Thirteen-year-old Dorani Gutierrez is
multitalented: she’s smart, compassionate, revels in learning about her heritage, and always speaks her mind. Though her father, who is of Argentinian descent, is mostly absent, her Puerto Rican mother’s presence more than makes up for it—until her mother dies. Now Dori must leave Miami—as well as her best friend and her mother’s fiancé—to live on a ranch in Wyoming with her tía Ivette, her mother’s estranged sister. While moving from the city to the country is a shock, Dori throws herself into her new reality with gusto, even as she grapples with grief. With the help of Sunshine, a horse that
Tía is rehabilitating following an automotive accident, Dori makes new friends
and inspires good in everyone she meets. Sophisticated first-person narration is imbued with Dori’s infectious enthusiasm. Simply rendered conflict—both emotional and interpersonal—allows the novel to maintain an overwhelmingly jovial tone that celebrates all the things that make a family. Ages 9–12. Agent: Linda Camacho, Gallt & Zacker Literary.

January 15, 2025
After her mother's death, a grieving teen finds connection and comfort with a traumatized horse. Thirteen-year-old Dorani Gutierrez loves her life in Miami amid a lively mix of Latin American cultures where she, as a Puerto Rican and Argentinian girl, blends in with her classmates. She's a strong advocate for "truth and justice," even when that means breaking the rules. But when her mother has a fatal heart attack on the way to speak with the principal after Dorani's latest rebellion, her whole world shatters. With her absent movie star father on set in Mongolia, Dorani goes to live in Wyoming with her estranged aunt. T�a Ivette seems cold and prickly to Dorani, but she's an expert at her job: running a ranch where she trains and rehabilitates horses with behavioral issues. Dorani feels an instant connection with one mare, Sunshine, who survived a terrible accident and is now mistrustful of humans. As T�a Ivette teaches her how to care for Sunshine, Dorani sees in the horse's progress echoes of her own grief and slow healing. When she starts to notice injustices at her new multicultural middle school, it takes all her strength and courage to stand up for what's right in her new home. The quickly wrapped up ending may leave readers feeling disoriented and vaguely let down, but the rich emotional center grounding this novel will stay with them. A heartfelt story of grief, family, and healing.(Fiction. 9-13)

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Starred review from February 1, 2025
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* After the unexpected death of her mother, 13-year-old Dorani Gutierrez has her life upended when she's uprooted from her Miami home to the cold weather of Wyoming to live with her estranged T�a Ivette. What begins as a rocky relationship for both aunt and niece becomes manageable as Dorani explores her aunt's ranch and discovers an animal in need of tenderness. Upon meeting Sunshine, an Argentine Criollo horse who has suffered its own traumatic experience, Dorani builds a relationship with the withdrawn creature. It is this connection that allows T�a Ivette to open up and shed light on the rift with her sister. Despite the comforting routine and new friends, Dorani unintentionally sparks trouble at her new school by questioning their status quo of shunning other cultures. As this young and determined protagonist discovers the power of words, she will have to decide if it's best to speak up or stay silent. Award-winning M�ndez's breathtaking middle-grade novel is not just about a girl and her horse but also family relationships (e.g., Dorani's movie-star father not returning her calls) and prejudicial tendencies in the school system. Fans of animal stories will get educated on various facets of caring for a horse (combing its mane or mucking stalls). A great read about the importance of bonding, grief, and healing.

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