Sunlight Finds You - by Laura Moriarty (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A forbidden love blows open the world of a teenage girl, altering the trajectory of her life - from the author of the New York Times bestseller The Chaperone

"A cancel-your-plans, hold-your-breath, call-your-best-friend kind of book." --Amy Jo Burns

"Illuminates the beguiling power of first love through characters whose teenage choices precipitate lifelong consequences." --Sarah McCoy

It's 1949, early in the Cold War, but St. Petersburg, Florida, is warm and lush. For seventeen-year-old Nora, it's paradise, especially after she meets and wins over Leonard, the shy, brilliant son of transplanted New Yorkers. Nora and Leonard are soon spending balmy days and evenings together, and in her adoring company, he grows more confident, even as he remains tender and caring. Leonard's mother is welcoming, but his father is more suspicious of Nora and her lower class family. When forced to cut contact, Nora takes a chance that changes her life: exiling her from the family she loves, and setting off a chain of secrets and betrayals that will follow her into adulthood.

A layered and propulsive love story set in the past, but with much to say about our present, Sunlight Finds You is ultimately about extending forgiveness--for ourselves, and for others--and about refusing to settle for a life that is less than full.

Review Quotes

Praise for Sunlight Finds You

"I can't remember the last time I rooted for a character the way I did for Nora in Sunlight Finds You. In an era of rampant sexism, war, and lies, she learns to listen for her own steady voice and follow it. Melodic and daring, this isn't just a good book--it's a cancel-your-plans, hold-your-breath, call-your-best-friend kind of book. An absolutely unmissable triumph."
--Amy Jo Burns, author of Mercury

"Sunlight Finds You illuminates the beguiling power of first love through characters whose teenage choices precipitate lifelong consequences. The story left me breathless with a desire to see these young lovers find a happy ending, while also raising poignant questions about the stigmas dividing families to this day. Laura is one of my must-read authors. Sunlight Finds You proves why she should be yours, too." --Sarah McCoy, New York Times bestselling author of Marilla of Green Gables

Praise for The Chaperone

"In this layered and inventive story, Moriarty raises profound questions about family, sexuality, history, and whether it is luck or will--or a sturdy combination of the two--that makes for a wonderful life." --O, The Oprah Magazine

"A mesmerizing take on women in this pivotal era."--Vogue "Surprising and poignant." --Entertainment Weekly

"Through Cora the world of early 20th-century America comes alive, and her personal triumphs become cause for celebration." --People

"Captivating and wise . . . Moriarty gives us a historically detailed and nuanced portrayal of the social upheaval that spilled into every corner of American life by 1922. . . . inventive and lovely." --Washington Post

About the Author

Laura Moriarty is the author of five other novels, including the New York Times bestseller The Chaperone which was made into a feature film by the creators of Downton Abbey. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas, and is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Kansas.