Sunrise Nights

Starred review from April 29, 2024
High schoolers Florence, a dancer, and Jude, a photographer, meet while participating in the traditional “sunrise night,” the last day of art camp, during which campers stay out all night. Despite the pair’s individual challenges—Florence worries that a worsening eye condition will end her ability to dance and Jude struggles with heightened
anxiety in the aftermath of his parents’ divorce—they make each other laugh, and think, and hope. They know there’s something between them, but since Jude has a girlfriend, and he and Florence live nowhere near each other, they agree not to talk again until the next sunrise night. Coauthors Cavallaro
(Manifest) and Zentner (In the Wild Light) employ spot-on banter to deliver a romance teeming with an ambiance of endless possibility on the precipice of
devastating heartbreak. As the teens bond over their shared love and conviction for their craft, between them spins a love story that is truly suspenseful. The will-they-won’t-they plot, ferried along by the duo’s alternating perspectives, will have readers struggling between racing toward the ending and lingering over the luminous verse. Protagonists read as white. Ages 13–up. Agents: (for Cavallaro) Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary; (for Zentner) Charlie Olsen, InkWell Literary.

May 1, 2024
Two teens meet at an arts camp in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and form a lasting bond. Florence, a dancer with nystagmus, an eye condition that affects her depth perception, is working through her grief that she may not be able to continue dancing when she meets Jude, a photographer. The closing tradition at Harbor Arts Camp is called Sunrise Night, an evening in which the teens are permitted to leave the camp to hang out in the surrounding town--all night if they wish (with check-ins). Jude is honest right away about having a girlfriend, but as the two move from one eccentric small-town venue to another, they realize they're undeniably attracted to one another. They vow to meet up again at Harbor Arts the following summer but in the meantime to return home to Wisconsin (Florence) and Tennessee (Jude) and avoid all communication: "Total silence for a year." In alternating entries comprising both verse and short prose passages from each of their perspectives, Florence and Jude's story is told as a sort of comedy of errors taking place on three Sunrise Nights over three successive years. This protracted, slow-burn romance works thanks to their frenetic, philosophical, wildly funny, and poignant voices, which will hook readers from the start, even if the verse sections may strike some as a little too earnest at times. Florence and Jude are cued white. A smart, swoony, and witty romance. (Romance. 13-18)

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Starred review from June 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Jude and Florence are students at the Harbor Arts Camp, where they meet by chance and are immediately infatuated. Readers learn that both are gifted: Jude at photography, and Florence at dancing, though her future as a dancer is cloudy due to an eye condition called nystagmus, which affects depth perception and balance. One night, they walk to a nearby town and eat pizza and donuts and go bowling--simple, ordinary things that help them bond. Near the end of the evening, Florence suggests that, like characters in the movie Before Sunrise, they meet again the following year and, in the meantime, have no contact whatsoever. Jude reluctantly agrees, though the year apart is hellish. And though they happily rendezvous at the camp a year later, their brief encounter ends badly when there is a misunderstanding. This character-driven novel is partly in verse (the other parts--their conversations--are prose), and it is beautifully written ("listening / to the nocturne of crickets"). The point of view shifts between the highly empathic characters as readers get to know them--thankfully, since, at 400 pages, this is almost too much of a good thing presented at a sometimes deliberate pace. The characterization redeems any faults, however, offering readers a memorable experience.

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Starred review from July 12, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Two teens fall for each other after a chance meeting in this novel in verse. Jude spends his summers at Harbor Arts Camp (HAC), where he lets his photography calm his anxious mind. Florence is a dancer attending HAC to experience the highest level of difficulty to ensure she can reach her full potential before her nystagmus robs her of her ability to dance. At the annual farewell bonfire, Jude notices Florence sitting alone and takes her picture. Feeling uncomfortable about taking a stranger's picture, he approaches Florence to ask for her permission. The teens decide to spend their "Sunrise Night"-when HAC campers hang out all night long in the nearby town, concluding with watching the sunrise-together, in which they learn a lot about each other and themselves. They make a pact: no contact until the next Sunrise Night at HAC, one year later. But who will they be in a year? Told over three sunrise nights, this slow-burn romance is beautifully written. Much of the story is conveyed through dialogue between Florence and Jude, and their banter is humorous and sweet. When topics turn heavier, Zentner and Cavallaro expertly create conversations that feel honest and authentic to the tough situations these characters are dealing with. Jude is struggling with his parents' divorce and his own anxiety, while Florence is having difficulty with her eye condition and letting go of her dancing career. Heartfelt, stunning, and well-written. Race of characters is not mentioned. VERDICT A first purchase for high school collections.-Lisa Buffi

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