The Horn Book Guide

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Blake, Ashley Herring

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James

375 pp. | Little | March, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-0-316-51553-5 $16.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-316-51550-4

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old heart transplant recipient Sunny is seeking a "New Life," including finding a better best friend (her old one outed her as bisexual) and a kissing partner. A girl named Quinn is willing to help--an endeavor that raises more questions than answers. Meanwhile, Sunny's long-absent mother is back in her life. Measured revelations of backstory and emotion-infused first-person narration balance major upheaval with private questions of identity.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019