“Reece was abducted by her father when she was little. Now she’s sixteen and searching for a way out.”
Fitzroy Books / Regal House
Sixteen-year-old Reece is an expert at keeping secrets. She has to be, since her father abducted her ten years ago. For as long as she can remember, she’s been on the run, sneaking food out of the dumpster and sleeping in the woods. Every time she moves, the same rules apply—cut your hair, change your name, and, above all, don’t let anybody get too close. Reece has no choice except to obey Dad’s orders. When Reece meets her first real friend, a boy named Shawn, she begins to realize that everyone else has secrets too. And the deadliest secret of all is the one her father has kept from her all these years.
praise for SUN DON’T SHINE
“An exceptional novel with an original perspective on memory and trauma."
"Reece's story--the action and the emotions--will break and remake your heart a hundred times over. I couldn't put it down."
—Kirstin Cronn-Mills, author of RULES FOR CAMOUFLAGE
“Beautiful, raw, and achingly honest, SUN DON’T SHINE illuminates the precarious existence and morally complex choices of sixteen-year-old Reece, her volatile father, and those living on the dark fringes of the Sunshine state."
—Jennifer Salvato Doktorski, author of AUGUST AND EVERYTHING AFTER
“…a searingly honest exploration of how a young woman copes with trauma…and of how she comes to discover not only her own strengths but also the truth about her past.”
—Small Press Picks
“At once a lyrical coming of age story and mesmerizing thriller, SUN DON’T SHINE will leave you breathless as it follows Reece, a resilient sixteen-year-old girl who’s been on the run with her volatile father ever since he abducted her ten years ago. Full of the poetry and magic of lost childhood and the pain of hard realizations, Crissa-Jean Chappell’s beautifully written novel about a teen’s desperate search for the truth will grab your heart and not let go as you race to turn the pages.”
—Emily Ross, author of HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH
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