The Trouble with Sunshine
by Yamile Saied Méndez
Middle School    Scholastic    272 pp.
3/25    9781546122746    $19.99
e-book ed.  9781546122760    $19.99

Thirteen-year-old Dorani’s vibrant life in Miami is destroyed after her mother’s sudden death from a heart attack. Her famous father is as absent as ever, so Dorani is sent to live with her mother’s estranged sister, Tía Ivette, who is more accustomed to rehabilitating horses than raising grieving teens. Her aunt’s reticent nature and the claustrophobia of her landlocked Wyoming ranch are hard on Dorani. However, caring adults, the continued presence of Puerto Rican–Argentinian traditions such as Three Kings Day, and a new diverse friend group at school help her acclimate to her new life. Méndez grants Dorani complex bereavement: she feels sociable, humorous, and creative as frequently as she feels homesick, heartbroken, and guilty. Tía Ivette’s hippotherapy techniques allow Dorani to help a mare named Sunshine overcome an injury; caring for Sunshine provides refuge from her own trauma. While Dorani’s unexpected “horse girl” phase brings her closer to Ivette, who is burdened by unresolved conflict with her late sister, it’s ultimately their discovery of a shared sense of social justice that cements their bond. Méndez doesn’t depict the process of healing from loss as effortless or enjoyable but rather as a necessity that’s eased by community. “It’s like taking medicine,” Ivette tells Dorani. “It might taste horrible, but in the end, it’s exactly what you need.”

From the ">May/June 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.