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Book Summary and Reviews of Sunlight Finds You by Laura Moriarty

Sunlight Finds You by Laura Moriarty

Sunlight Finds You

A Novel

by Laura Moriarty

  • Publishes:
  • Aug 4, 2026, 464 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

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.

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.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"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

This information about Sunlight Finds You was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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More Information

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.

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