The Secret Sunshine Project
by Benjamin Dean, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat
Interest age: 9 to 12
Reading age: 9+
Published by Simon & Schuster, 2022
About this book
When Bea’s big sister, Riley, plucks up the courage to tell Mum and Dad that she likes girls, Dad has the best idea. He takes them all to London Pride where, amidst a dazzle of rainbows, glitter and confetti, Riley feels she has found her tribe.
But that was last year, when Dad was still with them. Things are different now; they can’t afford to stay in their home and have no choice but to move to the countryside and stay with Gran. At least for the summer.
While Bea quickly makes new friends, Riley is living under a cloud; she’s missing Dad, and Pride, and can’t feel positive about anything. Until Bea has a radical idea: if Riley can’t go to Pride, Bea will bring Pride to her.
With a magnificent cast of diverse, inclusive, fully formed characters this is a story of pain, joy, loyalty, courage and love.
To balance a story of grief with the positive, and often hilarious, escapades of a brilliantly belligerent grandmother, a gloriously flamboyant drag queen and a quietly understated eleven-year-old confused by her feelings is not easy. But, in this heart-warming celebration of individuality, it seems effortless.
About the author
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