Publisher:
Catnip
Release
Date: 5th
March 2015
Edition:
UK paperback,
purchased
Other
Titles by this Author: Della
Says: OMG!, Jessie
Hearts NYC, Emma
Hearts LA, As
Delightful As a Carrot, Calm
Like a Stupid Feather, Starring
Kitty
A
film-making course in London with your favourite people in the world. Sunny,
Kitty and Hannah are set for the Best. Summer. Ever.
But
for Sunny the trip also raises questions. Is she happy just being with the
funny, gorgeous boy she’s met? Has her life already been mapped out? What does
she really want?
And
then there’s the secret she hasn’t told Kitty and Hannah... Because is changes
everything.
The second book in the Reel Friends series, Spotlight on Sunny, is just as warm and
full of heart as the first. I loved it.
Spotlight
on Sunny is a
testament to diversity. After Kitty’s story focusing on LGBT issues, Keris
moves over the what could possibly be the last taboo in YA: religion. Sunny is
a Muslim. She prays, wears a hijab and won’t have a boyfriend unless it’s
marriage-serious. She has to deal with the assumptions made by complete
strangers, the looks and the judgements, and the lack of them too. Religion can
be a difficult topic to approach but I think it was done beautifully in Spotlight on Sunny. It wasn’t made a big
deal of but it was present and still seen as important to Sunny.
As well as Sunny’s religion,
the novel features Will, a cute and cheeky boy with Hyper Mobility Syndrome; a
scantily dressed Australian girl who causes some trouble for Sunny and a girl
with bright blue hair among others. It was so good to see such a variety of
teenagers represented without judgement or stereotypes adhered to. And the gang
took on this message for the product of their film course. After experiencing
wolf whistles on the street, judging each other on how they present themselves
and realising that those snap judgements led them way off track, Sunny, Kitty,
Hannah, Danielle and Will make their final piece about just that: don’t judge a
book by its cover. Perfect!
Sweet, easy reading and a
brilliant advocate for diversity and feminism, Spotlight on Sunny is a must for everyone.
Sophie
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