To be honest, I had a hard time getting into the book. It had a very slow start.

But I do feel like it touched on some heavy topics that need to be discussed. Gentrification, teen pregnancy, what people have to do to survive.

This was overall a good book… Started a little slow for me but it picked up a short time after.. I think this is a great read for all the teens now because it covers hard topics like teenage pregnancy, shoplifting, and gentrification. Some things that they may not know much about.. I feel like there was a bit left open about B’onca and her parents.


All in all I recommend this book


Thank you NetGalley for my arc

First things first, thank you @netgalley for approving this ARC for me. Ive had my eye on this book for awhile. It did not disappoint. Reading this book made me so sad and I could relate so much to it. I was a teen mom. I had my son at 17 and when I became pregnant in high school, everyone looked at me crazy, judged me and told me I wouldn’t amount to anything; including family! In this book B’onca dealt with the same things. She got pregnant at a young age and everyone gave her dirty looks and claimed she wouldn’t be able to do things “normal” teenagers do because she has a baby. I felt for her because hearing people close to you doubt you and tell you that you wont amount to anything because you had a baby at a young age hurts. B’onca’s mom wasn’t a great role model for her. I had high hopes for her mom while reading but she ended up disappointing me.

B’onca is such a strong individual and although she did things that she shouldn’t have done, she went to any extreme to make sure her and her daughter didnt go without. Alot of people judged her as a bad mom based on some of the things she did, but when your back is against the wall and you have nobody to help you.. the only thing you thinking about is making sure your kid is good. I did not like her babys father. He was no good and also his parents were no better. I wish their was a part 2, so i can see what happens with his parents and B’onca. Another sad part in this book is that ytp people were trying to increase prices in her neighborhood to get most of the black people out. I get so upset when I read or hear about stuff like this. The things black people have to deal with are EXHAUSTING!

This was a fantastic book about a character whose perspective I haven't seen before - a teen mom! B'onca's love for her daughter, Mia, is heartwarming. But she will go to any lengths to provide for her daughter, which takes her down a dangerous path. The family dynamics in this book are what really stand out. As is the exploration of a gentrified neighborhood and what that does to the original residents. I feel that I learned a lot reading this and it's made me want to check out the author's debut novel. I definitely recommend this book to any fans of contemporary YA because B'onca is a great main character and she deserves to have her story told.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A high-interest book for teens that covers hard topics like teenage pregnancy, shoplifting, and gentrification.

B’onca Johnson is a teenage mother who lives in a bad area of her city with her sister and their two children. Her drug-addicted mom has been gone for years, so they are on their own.. And recently, rich people have come into their neighborhood and have started buying up properties and flipping them; pricing out all of the neighbors who have called this neighborhood their home for years and years.

B'onca has dreams of owning her own hair salon some time, but working a part-time job and buying all of the baby's essentials (food, diapers, clothes) with no help from the baby's father, there isn't anything left at the end of the month after the helps her sister with bills. Will she ever get to college or beauty school on her own if she doesn't join the local gang members in boosting products for quick cash?

Sun Keep Rising is multicultural interest teen and young adult fiction by Kristen R. Lee.

B’onca Johnson is a teen mother facing hard decisions. How can she help keep her family from being evicted from their home? Is she making the right choice? Is the reward worth the grave risks?

Kristen R. Lee takes on some hard topics in this novel, including gentrification and generational trauma. The fact that the main character is a teenage girl makes them even more relevant and compelling. It’s well-written, and the details are accurate for the time and place. I throughly enjoyed Sun Keep Rising and rate it 5 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend it to teen and young adult readers and to all readers who enjoy teen and young adult fiction.

My thanks to Random House Children’s, Crown Books for Young Reader, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.