Name: Facing the Sun
ISBN: 9781534406056

Janice Lynn Mather

Told from multiple viewpoints, follows teenaged friends Nia, KeeKee, Faith, and Eve as they experience unexpected life changes the summer a hotel developer purchases their Caribbean community's beloved beach.

Facing the Sun

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets The Education of Margot Sanchez in this Caribbean-set story about four friends who experience unexpected changes in their lives during the summer when a hotel developer purchases their community’s beloved beach. Change is coming to Pinder Street… Eve is the rock in her family of seven, the one they always depend on. But when her dad is diagnosed with cancer, she wants nothing more than to trade her worries for some red lipstick and a carefree night. Faith is the dancer all the boys want, but she only has eyes for the one she can’t have. Only thing is, all the flirting in the world can’t distract her from her broken home life...or the secrets that she hides. KeeKee is the poet who won’t follow the rules, not even to please her estranged father. But after a horrible betrayal, she’ll have to choose between being right and losing everyone she loves. Nia is the prisoner longing to escape her overprotective mother. A summer art program might be her ticket to freedom, yet it comes with a terrible price—and the risk may not be worth the reward. Ready or not, it’s time for these four friends to face the sun.

Erin 

The term "coming-of-age" has never really made much sense to me. It's far too wide of a genre, and a bit vague. Surely every book with main characters between the ages of 10-18 could be considered coming-of-age? I also never really could identify something that could be considered coming-of-age. It feels like it will always remain a bit of a mystery, but then I read a book like this one, where "coming-of-age" seems to fit it perfectly. There's not really a distinctive plot in Facing the Sun. Sure, things happen, relationships are tested and built upon, and obstacles are encountered, dealt with, or overcome. But instead of having a distinct beginning and end, we get the feeling that the story existed before we got there, and will continue after we close the book. You might think that would be obvious, and happen in every story, but that isn't always the case. What I felt in this one was like I was peeking into a small section of the lives of our main characters, with just a glimpse into this one particular moment in time.

What this book is mostly built upon however, is the friendship between the four main characters: Eve, Faith, KeeKee, and Nia. Or rather, their relationships with one another. Because I am still not sure if they consider themselves true friends or not. They are clearly staples in each others' lives, and their comings and goings are so interconnected they don't have a choice in the matter. But what I assumed would be a story about a tightknit group of girls who were helping each other through their problems was instead a story about four people who consistently find themselves wrapped into each others' lives. Sometimes they get along, sometimes they don't. Sometimes one breaks off and has relationships outside, sometimes the group splits down the middle. Sometimes they're not a group at all. But overall, it was so interesting to see how they appeared in the daily lives of one another, connected in so many different ways other than just friendship.

However, it was the four different perspectives that was also the weakness of this book. I don't frown on multiple perspective, they keep things interesting within a story. But if I had to choose, I would prefer that a story doesn't flip back and forth so frequently between those perspectives. Particularly at the beginning, when we had barely been introduced to each of them at all, it was difficult to keep them all apart, even more so when their lives intermingle so much as I mentioned above. There was also no consistency in the separation of perspectives. Sometimes it would last one page, sometimes five. Other times, whole chapters were dedicated to one girl. It made it harder to discern between them all, and I had trouble keeping some of the other relationships straight. 

I liked the writing style in this book a lot. It reminded me of Toni Morrison's writing, if I were being honest. I'm a skim reader - if I can skip over some words to read a book faster, I'll do it. Sometimes it makes me miss things, other times the writing is weak enough that I don't. This book made me force myself to slow down and take in every word, which I don't do often, but I do enjoy. Obviously reading every word in a book will make it more enjoyable. But forcing myself to do this also reminds me that the book is special, and that there is more to the characters and the story that is written between the words that cannot be missed, no matter how quickly I want to get through to the end. 

I love that this book takes place in the Bahamas, because I think most of the world looks at the Caribbean and sees islands that are just meant for vacations. But real people live there, they make their livelihood there, and this book really makes that clear and evident. It was also really interesting to see this other side of tourism and the effect it has on the locals, with the main plot of the book revolving around a hotel development. I love that the author is Bahamian as well, which obviously makes it more genuine and real, and really enhances the experience for the reader. I don't know how much (or if any) of the book may have been based on experiences of the author, but regardless, the familiarity with the environment is there and much appreciated from a reader's perspective. 

I read this book in one sitting (because what else is there to do in this pandemic), and never felt like I was bored at any point. I don't know what happens to the characters before the story begins. I don't know what will happen to them after. I really like how the book ended, with the sense that the story doesn't actually end there. Maybe they graduate and all go off in different directions in life. Maybe they all stick around. Maybe they all will work for the hotel after it's built. Regardless, I like that it continues, even though I've closed the book. These characters felt very real, and flawed, and not like they were created for a book and perfectly crafted. I enjoyed the experience of reading this a lot, even though as a reader, there wasn't a personal connection. It really goes to show that if a book is well-written and there's thought put into the story and the characters, it's not necessary to relate to everything inside of it. You can still get the same sense of home and hope within it. 

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Facing the Sun

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