Title: Sun Seekers
Author: Rachel McRady
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Six-year-old Gracie Lynn is perpetually curious and big-hearted. Convinced she knows how to save her beloved grandfather John from the “worm” that is eating his brain—a metaphor her mother once used to explain John’s dementia and sundown syndrome—she helps him break out of his nursing home, and the two disappear together on a quest to chase the sun. But what’s an adventure for Gracie is a nightmare scenario for her estranged parents, LeeAnn and Dan. There’s no way to predict where John might have taken their young daughter, or if he’s capable of keeping her safe.
Jaded beyond her years, and struggling with her own mental health, LeeAnn has no delusions about what might happen if they don’t locate Gracie soon. Dan is no less frantic, but communicating with LeeAnn isn’t easy, even under the circumstances—too much stands between the hopeful young couple they once were and the people they’ve become.
I enjoyed this a lot! It reminded me vaguely of Fredrik Backman’s My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry because a lot of the story is from Gracie’s point-of-view. LeeAnn…I did not like her at all, except towards the very end. She is completely self-absorbed and wants to blame everyone but herself for all her problems. I found her to be almost hateful for most of the book and had a hard time being sympathetic. Dan…I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for him, either. He cheated on his wife, after all, but I liked that he was actively trying to figure out how to fit in Gracie’s life. This ended up being a deeply engrossing read, and I recommend it.
Rachel McRady is an award-winning entertainment journalist. Sun Seekers is her debut novel.
(Galley courtesy of Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 