Sunrise Nights by Jeff Zentner & Brittany Cavallaro

  

It's no secret I love Jeff Zentner's books!  The Serpent King, In the Wild Light, and Colton Gentry's Third Act are all some of my absolute favorites.  So of course I got my hands on his book co-written with Brittany Cavallaro, Sunrise Nights.

Told in a blend of poetry and prose/dialogue and in alternating voices, this book tells the story of two teens who meet on the last night of their time at art camp.  The small town crawls with the campers, called "Hackers" as the teens all enjoy a bonfire and run around together all night until they meet up to view the sunrise on their last day.  

One narrator is Florence, an incredible good dancer who is going blind.  The other narrator is Jude, an anxious photographer who feels peace behind the lens.  These two happen to run into each other on Sunrise Night and spend all their hours until dawn with each other.  There's a connection, but it's only a few hours.  Instead of exchanging email addresses or phone numbers, they decide NOT to communicate at all for an entire year.  They will just let the night they shared remain a wonderful memory and see each other next year on Sunrise night. 

Florence and Judge visit lots of fun spots in town and share more with each other about their hopes and fears than they did with any one else during their entire time at camp. 

So...will they meet up the next year?  What will happen to each of them during the year?  Will they still feel the same about each other if they run into each other again??

I enjoyed this book.  I liked the poems and the pace moved quickly.  However, this one did not measure up to Zentner's other books for me.  I haven't read anything by Cavallaro, but still, I just didn't feel any huge passion here.  Yes, these two are both different and drawn to each other.  But there wasn't a big spark, and while I enjoyed the story and how it ended, it wasn't my favorite. But I still recommend it.  I think if you are an artist or feel sometimes like you can't quiet down all that's in your mind, you'd connect with these characters.  There's a lot to like here, and it was a quick, enjoyable read.