Sunny [Track series: Book 3] by Jason Reynolds [in School Library Journal]
“Dear Diary” started because Sunny’s father wanted him to be “more hushy-hushy” than “yelly-yelly.” Writing gave Sunny a place “to put the noise…whenever [he] needed to, which was all the time except for when [he] was running or sleeping.” Sunny’s a gifted runner yet being a star on his elite middle-grade team isn’t enough anymore – because maybe running (away) isn’t how he’s gonna move forward.
As Jason Reynolds continues his lauded middle-grade “Track” tetralogy (after Ghost and Patina), readers take note: go aural – because beyond the rhythmic, energetic narrative, listeners get an additional nine minutes of enhancing content from both Reynolds and narrator Guy Lockard. Reynolds calls Lockard “the perfect candidate to read Sunny” – as well as most of his other titles – because after 20 years of friendship, “he knows me … my style … the way the voices are supposed to land … because he knows many of these people I write about in real life.”
Verdict: With no end to Reynolds’s popularity, libraries should prepare for all-format demand; audio will also be an enticing choice for reluctant readers.
Review: modified from “Media,” Xpress Reviews, School Library Journal, February 1, 2019
Readers: Middle Grade
Published: 2018
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