Sunny Parker does her best to live up to her name, bringing the sunshine into the lives of her dad and her best friends. But she sometimes finds it hard to find the bright spots in the goings on in her community. Like when protests erupt over converting an old school into affordable housing or when she learns that one of the residents in her own apartment complex suffers from domestic abuse.

Her dad says not to get involved, to keep her head down and fly under the radar to keep negative attention off their own affordable housing complex. But Sunny can’t just sit by and let misconceptions color the way people are treated. Trouble is, living up to her own principles may get her in trouble with the dad she loves so much.

Sunny Parker Is Here To Stay by Margaret Finnegan asks readers to think beyond the surface of social issues like affordable housing, houselessness, and domestic abuse. It also challenges stereotypes of race and the elderly. Again and again Sunny encounters people who don’t want to get involved or feel helpless to change the outcome of decisions made by those in charge.

Sunny struggles with how to respond until she ultimately finds a way forward that lets her be true to herself while also repairing relationships with those she loves. Sunny Parker’s story is a tender tale likely to resonate with young readers on the cusp of change or confusing times in their own lives. I highly recommend it for readers aged 9 to 12.

The author provided a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.