• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12
• Reading age: 14 to 18

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets The Education of Margot Sanchez in this Caribbean-set “heartwarming and sincere” (Kirkus Reviews) story about four friends who experience unexpected changes in their lives during the summer when a hotel developer purchases their community’s beloved beach.

Change is coming to Pinder Street…

Eve is the rock in her family of seven, the one they always depend on. But when her dad is diagnosed with cancer, she wants nothing more than to trade her worries for some red lipstick and a carefree night.

Faith is the dancer all the boys want, but she only has eyes for the one she can’t have. Only thing is, all the flirting in the world can’t distract her from her broken home life...or the secrets that she hides.

KeeKee is the poet who won’t follow the rules, not even to please her estranged father. But after a horrible betrayal, she’ll have to choose between being right and losing everyone she loves.

Nia is the prisoner longing to escape her overprotective mother. A summer art program might be her ticket to freedom, yet it comes with a terrible price—and the risk may not be worth the reward.

Ready or not, it’s time for these four friends to face the sun.

Janice Lynn Mather is a Bahamian writer with an MFA from the University of British Columbia. Her first novel, Learning to Breathe, was a Governor General’s Literary Award finalist, a BC Book Prize finalist, shortlisted for the 2019 CCBC Amy Mathers Teen Book Award, a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection, an Amelia Bloomer’s Top Ten Recommended Feminist Books for Young Readers pick, and a Junior Library Guild selection. Facing the Sun is her second novel for young adults. Janice Lynn lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family and a growing collection of dust bunnies.

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"Mather writes with inviting, atmospheric prose that vividly conveys life on Pinder Street, the intertwining dynamics of the families there, and the emotional intensity of teenaged life in the face of all kinds of change."

BCCB

"An enjoyable friendship novel about change, acceptance, and being honest with each other. A great addition to libraries where books like Ann Brashares’ “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series is popular."

School Library Journal

"A heartwarming and sincere journey following four girls as they mature into their friendship."

Kirkus Reviews