South of Sunshine

Kaycee McCoy is a senior high school student in a small town in rural Tennessee. Kaycee has been kissed by a lot of boys, but it just doesn’t do anything but gross her out. She literally was happy to be dumped by her last boyfriend. Everything changes when a new girl shows up on the first day of senior year.
Bren Dawson is tall, athletic and has no problem making new friends at her new school. She hails from Boston, and has no problem being who she is, an out and proud. Bren brings up all the feelings and desires Kaycee has been repressing for quite a while. She grew up in Sunshine, Tennessee which is definitely not a bastion of equality and understanding. The only thing is a relationship with Bren is too tempting for Kaycee to deny.
This is an emotional coming of age tale. This story takes you through Kaycee’s journey of first love, admitting who you are, and the fall out of living in a in a society that is pressuring you into who you love. South of Sunshine is a well written YA novel. You will find in full of teen aged angst and coming to terms with being gay in a small southern town. It is also a story of friendship, and how those friendships evolve as real issues are brought to the forefront of their lives.

Lately, I haven’t read too much young adult. It’s a shame, and something I need to rectify, because there are, as there’s always been, some amazing literature in the genre. Dana Elmendorf’s South of Sunshine easily fits in with some of the greats.

The novel follows the daughter of a single mother, Kaycee, who struggles with her sexuality and falling in love for the first time in the small town of Sunshine, Tennessee.

There are many aspects I liked about the novel, but the strongest part was the way Elmendorf doesn’t sugarcoat life for lgbtqia people in a small southern town. Kaycee herself is religious and gay, so it was refreshing to see that there was no either/or that comes up often in pop culture. While I’m not religious myself, I’m glad this had a prominent place in the book because many lgbtqia people struggle with it in real life.

The promiscuous bisexual trope from a minor character was disheartening to read, especially since the character never had a chance to grow or defend herself. I also wanted the parallel between Kaycee being a lesbian to be drawn a bit tighter to other students who are outcasts in Sunshine due to their sexuality, race, or economic standing. Particularly because Bren, the main love interest is both gay and a woman of color, while being from one of the wealthier families in town.

Bren and Kaycee’s friend Van were wonderful to read, along with her best friend Sarabeth’s personal character growth.

Kaycee’s back and forth between being proud and being ashamed of being gay felt very natural to me because it echoed my own life and it probably relatable to a lot of lgbtqia teens. Her difficulties with family, friends, and society were nuanced and heartbreaking. There were a few characters I didn’t want to forgive, and yet by the end of the book, I found myself in tears from Elmendorf’s writing. It’s been a while since a book made me cry like that.

I have enjoyed reading South of Sunshine so much. I cried, laughed and cheered for these kids. The teens really act like teens. They are wild, reckless, cruel, and sometimes wise. Dana Elmendorf expertly walks us through the fears and difficult experiences gay teens go through, and still manages to work in so much love, friendship, beauty, and hope for the future. There are several different characters that are gay, and they have differing levels of support from their families. The predominate message I took from this is that when you come out you are not just exposing yourself to haters, but allowing yourself the opportunity to be truly loved and supported by others. I would highly recommend South of Sunshine to teens and adults. Don't quit reading at the difficult parts. You will be glad you stuck with it till the end.

I absolutely loved this book!

I felt the author did a really good job in creating a story with lovable characters, angst, strength, humour and a great overall story that you never want to stop reading. I thought the emotions and turmoil that the lead character Kaycee went through was very believable and I liked the way she slowly went from a frightened teen who didn't want to rock the boat to a strong lead the way person. Bren was a perfect match for Kaycee, I loved reading the interactions which just flowed well making it difficult to move on from these characters when I finished.

What a great story for LGBT youth and those struggling to accept who they are. The story shows us how far we have come in LGBT rights and acceptance but also reminds us that we have a way to go. That you can't please everyone but being true to yourself will give you the greatest gift in life, love.

This is a feel good story where you do go through some bumps along the way which makes the sweet moments even better. Great book and I highly recommend the read!

Kaycee Jean McCoy is over dating boys, but knows it is the best way of hiding in plain sight in Sunshine, Tennessee. Her best friend, Van, is gay and everyone knows it, but so long as no one mentions it, everyone can pretend otherwise. Her other best friend, Sarabeth, has been happily dating one of the star footballers for the last two years. Theirs is a tight group of friends in a town where the biggest events are listed on the church calendar.

Bren Dawson, the new girl in the school, is exotic, smart, tall, and on a basketball scholarship. Most of the school is enamoured of Bren, none more so than Kaycee. In a town that is largely run by the church, falling in love with a female classmate is the worst thing she can do.

This is a coming of age tale, well written by Elmendorf. The fluctuating emotions and heightened feelings of Kaycee’s first love, and fear of losing her mum, her friends, and her future are all well described. There is more than a hint of the believable on the pages, and I suspect this will be avidly read and reread by teens struggling to come out in fear-ridden towns.

Realistic about the difficulties of homophobia in parts, there is a fundamental seam of hope running through the book that provides a breath of air in what could have been claustrophobic and oppressive. I really liked the characters, and the way the story gave room for Kaycee to grow into her strengths, and accept love and support from some surprising characters. This is a well-written blend of some of the difficulties and the joys of being LGBTQI in a small town.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I couldn't put it down. Even though Kaycee got on my nerves a bit, I could understand where her struggle was coming from. The things that she had to go through, even though most of them were in her head or of her own making were awful. I was pleased with the ending, but would have loved to read just a bit more about her, Bren, Van and Sarabeth.

There were several things about this book that I enjoyed. Elmendorf tackled some very difficult topics and themes such as ignorance and small town mentality, family, friendship, and finding the courage to love who you love without reservation. All of this was handled well and in a manner that never felt overwhelming but rather authentic. Additionally, Kaycee’s inner voice is painstakingly honest and while readers sympathize with all she struggles with, she also has a voice filled with sweet Southern charm that creates a nice balance between the dramatic elements and the sweeter aspects of teenage romance. It’s also wonderful to see more YA books focusing on lesbian relationships. There are definitely great titles out there, but it’s fantastic to see more! Overall, this is an excellent and integral addition to every YA collection.

Really sweet! A lovely read with friendships and relationships I enjoyed following.

This is a really nice novel in which we follow Kaycee, a 17-year-old girl trying to keep her emotions locked up inside. She lives in a small community with very conservative people ready to judge whomever defies their beliefs, whoever is different, be it for their social status, race or sexual orientation. So she dates guys to avoid paying attention to her true feelings and keep everyone else happy. And it seems to be working until a very tall and fascinating new girl joins her school. And Kaycee soon discovers it's a bit difficult to keep blocked the part of her she tries to ignore, when Bren's nearness causes a turmoil inside of her.

The story, what Kaycee goes through, her relationship with her mother and friends, their behavior, everything... felt real. To be honest, Kaycee annoyed me a little bit in the beginning, with her constant over-thinking and referring to other girls as "skank" (which still annoys me), but I soon found myself liking her and sympathizing with her. I really liked getting to know her, understanding her fears and insecurities, and seeing her grow into the person she is by the end.

I really love flawed and realistic characters, so in that respect I was not disappointed. I liked a few for different reasons, including Van, one of Kaycee's best friends, and his awesome mom! And Bren... She's too realistically perfect for me to find even one thing I didn't like. It's so nice to have a character so confident in her shoes and so understanding of other people's feelings.

And I'm just so happy this book was written. Homophobia is still very present in so many places, and we see its ugly face here (and the story also touches a bit on racism/xenophobia), but South of Sunshine carries a message of hope for those afraid to be who they are and love who they love, afraid of their future. And even if there are, fortunately, a few other books dealing with the same subject, this is without a doubt one of the most well-written, believable, positives, charming and engaging books I've read.

This book is going to matter, and it's going to matter a lot.

I can already see the people getting frustrated about "instalove" because it's hip and cool to dismiss a book in that way. But it's not love that hits Kaycee, it's infatuation, a crush that's bigger than she is, and the undeniable mix of hormones, fear, and "oh my god I want to kiss her."

Kaycee has been pretending to date boys to stay under the radar in her small backwater town full of gossips and anger. But when Bren and her family come to town, she grapples with a reality she can't ignore: she's gay, and she's not quite proud yet, but she'll probably get there, and her friend Van, who is gay but doesn't talk about it much, is there to help her. Begrudgingly.

Big crushes take over our heads and hearts and Bren and Kaycee are sweet and like each other--and they TALK! They get to know each other, they share their experiences and they support each other through the gossip and whispering of a town full of people who, when they find out there's omg THOSE people around, declare they must run everyone like that out of town.

They live in the town where all those Facebook comments come from. And it's frustrating to see them come to life on the page, but holy hell is it accurate. Not just about gays, but Hispanics. The town is better much the "you can't come here and make us treat you like humans when you threaten the sanctity of marriage!!!" type and it will make you mad and you will think "god this is heavy handed" but then you remember wait, there really ARE people like that.

Kaycee's inner turmoil and fear of being found out comes to a very expected head, but she tackles it the best way a teenage girl can.

Don't pick up this book expecting a YA story to be full of smart, sophisticated, worldly teens who never make a single mistake and always speak with eloquence. The teens in this story are young, rough around the edges, thrumming with hormones, and real.

Yes, it is a coming out story.

Yes, it is one that matters so much, that will hit you right in the heart (in that space where you still remember that first all-consuming crush and how badly you wanted to smell them, be near them, have their attention), and need to be in the hands of every young girl with questions and every old grump with a fear about /those/ people.

This book is gong to be big. I hope.

Being from the South I appreciated that it held true and wasn't a "fake" southern story. Being from Tennessee made it even better.

I. Adored. This. Book.

It's been a while since I've read a contemporary, and I'd forgotten how great the genre could be. Though fantasy and paranormal books are amazing, they don't hold that sense of reality that a contemporary does (which it is supposed to), and sometimes it's lovely reading a real-life situation book.

Having personally only read one LGBTQIA book before (Carry On by Rainbow Rowell), and having it be a fantasy, I was hoping this book would give an insight into gay people's lives in a real-life context.

And it did - in a really great way.

It was interesting to see how our main character, Kaycee, reacted to how she was treated just because she was gay. It was incredibly sad at times, and I do admit I nearly cried. It was so disgusting how gay people were treated in Sunshine - I'm not going to lie, there were moments where I wanted to throw the book across the room because of some people's ignorance - and I find it horrible that this happens in real-life.

People shouldn't be defined by what gender they love, and should be able to be proud of who they are. It was lovely seeing Kaycee finally accept herself for who she is, and watch her personal growth through-out the book, to the point where she finally started to stand-up for who she was.

The plot and writing were great, though I will say I found that some bits were a bit lengthy that maybe didn't need to be - however, this was nothing major, and it wasn't done in a bad way at all! I could have found it lengthy just because I was reading it on my iPhone, and it feels like you've turned a million pages on there when in fact you've only read one page in a physical book.

In all honesty, I did find the ending quite rushed. I was hoping for a bit more than that - I mean, I loved the last chapters of the book, because it was Kaycee finally accepting who she was. But I would have liked a little more detail at the end, as it felt like we rushed from one thing to another, unlike the rest of the book where we got plenty of detail.

This book was very sweet, and extremely enlightening. The plot was very interesting and the characters - I just fell in love with them. Our author, Dana, has done such a great job with this one guys. I recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary books, romances or who generally like reading awesome books!

“South of Sunshine” by Dana Elmendorf is not an easy book to read. One may look at the beautiful cover, at the Young Adult label, and expect nothing but a happy ending. To be fair, that is usually what you get from such a combination. However, “South of Sunshine” is much more than its ending. Its beginning, its middle… they are important.

I must confess that at the beginning it wasn’t easy for me to get along with Kaycee, the main character. There was something that bothered me about her and it was starting to get on my nerves. I was about ready to roll my eyes at her permanently when I realized what I was doing. I was judging. You see, Kaycee was educated in a certain way, brought up in a town with certain expectations. Even though she, as a human being of her own, has a say, it’s not easy to question your own roots when they seem to be the only thing keeping you from falling. That and the fear of disappointing others, specially when family is concerned, can drive one to say and do insane things. At some point self-preservation will kick in, but till then… You will call your girlfriend an experimentation, you will call your best friend a hypocrite, you will throw your phone out the window and explode, setting everything and everyone around you on fire. Then hope is born from the ashes. Without the weight on your shoulders, you decide you can do it, that you must do it for your own sake. That’s when magic happens.

The only real issue I had with this book was that it seemed to start out of nowhere. The general pace is slow, but the beginning feels like we are inside a ship to Mars during the lift off. It’s rocky, a bit too fast and confusing. I think we should have been given a little more background between the whole meeting Bren thing and the relationship status.

That said, I believe it’s really important to talk about Kaycee’s mother. She takes her time, yes, her steps are baby steps, yes, but she is not giving up on her daughter. I think this is an important message. People should hear this, read this, give each other a chance.

Written in a rather humorous and simple way, “South of Sunshine” is a charming read. Visits some commonplaces, yes, but they have become common for a reason. An “Annie on My Mind” for younger audiences, I would say.

ARC provided by Albert Whitman & Company via NetGalley.

This was a great read! Very energetic and each page kept me interested!

The ending of this novel gave me chills. I never expected this ending and to find herself in that situation, she had to be speechless. I fought my way through this novel, literally fighting with the main character as she tried to take a stand with herself. She was scared to be herself, scared to look at herself, for who might be in the mirror. Who might she disappoint in the process and who was she really looking at? It’s tough being original and it’s hard not being part of the crowd but it’s also difficult to be someone you’re not. I loved the game of cat-and-mouse which the characters played in this novel as I felt like a player in the game. Holding on tight, I felt elated in this game for it was dangerous and fun but I wanted out when it stopped.

When Bren walked into their social scene, everyone noticed. She carried herself with confidence and she was different. Being the new girl, she had stories that captured everyone’s attention and her life was filled with excitement and spark. Kaycee watched her from a distance, there was something about her that intrigued her but she just couldn’t bring herself to approach her like everyone else did. Sarabeth and Kaycee had been best friend for years. As Kaycee approaches Bren, something occurs between them but Kaycee can’t quite understand the feelings behind it. The more time that she spends with Bren, the more comfortable she feels and the more she questions exactly what type of relationship the two of them have. Sarabeth tries to keep the two girls apart which irritates Kaycee, as she sees what her best friend is trying to do. Kaycee begins to wonder about her sexual orientation and as Kaycee and Bren spend more time together, their relationship deepens. Sarabeth wants Kaycee to talk with her about everything especially what is occurring between her and Bren but Kaycee is not sure that Sarabeth is the right person to talk to. Finding Van, Kaycee is able to find a friend she can share her thoughts and concerns with. The story deals with some tough issues and the teens must air their feelings and reflects to make the right decision for themselves. I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Albert Whitman in exchange for an honest review.

SOS is a fun read.

The dancing around each other bit between Kaycee and Bren was cute. All throughout, I felt the emotions from the characters, be it anger, regret, tenderness, etc.

The stuff here could really happen/has happened somewhere in the world, so that's a plus. How people sometimes hide in plain sight (neither confirming or denying anything), some stay in a perpetual state of denial (while hiding who they are) and others being hypocrites about it (denying but their actions speak otherwise), there are others who have to keep each other a secret.

It won't be a bad thing if we were shown the aftermath of the parade. How this book ended leaves a nice opportunity for a sequel though. So.. if ever y'all decide on giving that a go... *thumbs up*

The pacing was a little uneven for me, but on the whole a really enjoyable novel. Yay for happily ever after for girls. We need more of those and I'll be recommending this one very much.

If you're concerned that this will be a sad lesbian book, don't worry it's not. Although there is a brief moment where I thought it was going to be about sad lesbians it got resolved quickly. I wanted this book to be more of a cutesy romance, but I think the theme of self-acceptance is an important one. I also appreciated that this Southern small town felt authentic because I can't tell you how many times (especially in film and TV) people get it wrong and focus on the stereotypes that people think of. I appreciated that not everyone was wearing cowboy hats and cowboy boots and rode a horse everywhere. Although the setting felt authentic and I enjoyed the use of Southern slang throughout it did feel like the characters were stock characters and any character development felt like it happened rapidly and out of nowhere. It didn't help that Kaycee is the narrator so she doesn't really see the changes until it's too late, but I would've appreciated more interaction with the other characters rather than her just internalizing everything. I really enjoyed that once Kaycee comes out there is varying degrees of acceptance because it made it more believable that some people would still love her completely for who she is and others would completely reject her. I also liked that although her mom still loves her for who she is, she still has worries and goes about solving those worries in the wrong way. It showed that there is hope for their relationship, but at the same time shows that she has a long way to go. You also can't do anything set in a Southern small town without religion and I enjoyed the fact that Kaycee was still allowed to be religious and a lesbian and that she could still believe in God and think that the pastor had it all wrong in his sermon. Overall this was a cute book even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting and I appreciate that at its heart it had a lesbian character because f/f relationships are lacking in the YA section.

A while back I was commenting with Kat that I hadn’t read any book about a F/F relationship. Yes, I read books that had lesbian relationships in the background, such as The Mortal Instruments or More Than Fashion, but I still hadn’t read one book where the F/F relationship took front and central. That’s why, when this book became available on Netgalley, I was super excited and requested it instantly. I had high hopes for it!

Unfortunately, despite the very strong issues touched on this book, and the occasional tear jerker moment, the most dominant feeling I had while reading it was: RAGE!

Yes, I was enraged for like 50% of this book. It didn’t feel good. I was messaging Cátia the whole time, and my most used expression was “WTF??!!“. I wanted to throw my phone away and yell at the skies and I even let out an occasional “OMG!” outloud and the occasional scream of frustration… yeah… this book was an experience, all right.

Let me first tell you a bit about the plot, because I feel like the blurb is not all that illuminating… Kaycee likes girls, she has liked girls since she can remember, she was never confused or in doubt, she is gay, she knows it, she just never admitted it to others or to herself. Her plan was to get through high school, have a few boyfriends, go to community college, save money and then get the hell away from Sunshine. Her plan was also never to tell a soul in her life about who she truly is, not even her mother. Then a new girl arrives at school and it’s a bit of instacrush… Kaycee can’t keep her eyes out of Bren, and Bren is also interested, but Bren has no problems with who she is, though she doesn’t flaunt it, she also doesn’t hide it.

Things get tricky as their relationship progresses. Kaycee being raised religious, is torn between her true self and what people at her small southern town and her church deems acceptable – that is: homosexuality is a NO NO! In a town that it’s socially and racially segregated, Kaycee is afraid, so she hides herself. Until her relationship with Bren comes out, that is, and Kaycee has to decide what is more important to her.

Now, see, isn’t that a good premise? I think it’s fabulous. My problem was the execution…

The writing took me a bit to get into, mainly because of the southern colloquialisms and expressions that I’m not familiar with. Eventually I kind of got used to it. But the pacing was slow, oh so slow, and honestly, after finishing it, I felt like the whole direction was a bit lacking.

I had a LOT of problems with Kaycee, our main character. I won’t even begin to understand how hard it is to come out of the closet in normal circumstances, much less in a small and small minded town, but I wanted to slap this girl in the face a few times… ok, many many times. I understood the fear, I swear I did, but her denial of herself and those who loved her hurt. The things she did and said to try to extricate herself from some situations was too hurtful and nonsensical. The fact that after an unpleasant situation, she turned the tables around and did the same to a person who was one of her best-friends was the worst.

In the end I felt like she grew a little, but not nearly enough, and her motivations weren’t the right ones. You should do things for YOU and not because you’re in love. Speaking of the romance, it was another thing I wasn’t totally sold on. I loved Bren, I just kept wishing that she would find someone better, because Kaycee didn’t treat her like she deserved.

I know that I live in a pretty idyllic place. It’s not that bullying and bigotry and so on doesn’t happen here, because it does, but definitly not in the dimension that is portrayed in this book. But some things that are said during this book totally turned my stomach around, because they’re just so wrong! I know this happens, I know it happens a lot and in a lot of places, but I don’t think that most of the book should have had this theme, where people said the most offensive things, and Kaycee or Van just went with them, because it was easier I guess… no, I didn’t like it at all. Some examples:

“You and your troublesome friends need to git your asses out of my theater. This ain’t no homosexual social club. You take your gay crap to California where all them other liberal hippies live. Law or no law, you’ll never be equal in my book. And you ought to be ashamed. You all disgust me. it ain’t normal, I tell ya. You gay people are destroying marriage and family values across the country. We don’t tolerate that around here.”

This is Kaycee’s BFF talking to her…

“I thought if you finally admitted you were gay, then somehow, I’d lose you. That I wouldn’t be able to be your friend because you’d hit on me or something, and then everybody would think I was gay too.”

This is the same BFF and one clueless dude…

“It’s the only gay shirt I’ve got.”

“Just because they’re gay, doesn’t mean they all wear pink. Do they, Van?”

I mean, I can’t even! I think the themes treated in this book are so important, but unfortunately I don’t think the execution appealed to me at all. I was rooting for the characters simply for my sense of morals and right and wrong, and nothing more, because these weren’t likable characters. Ultimatly I managed to reach 3 stars of rating because of this, because this type of books ARE IMPORTANT and because this book made me feel (though not very good…).

I thought that Kaycee's struggle with her sexuality was well-written, especially with her upbringing and the society she lives in. Yes, I was disappointed with the way she handled certain situations but I can't say I was surprised. The author wrote compelling main characters and secondary characters that you either loved, hated or even redeem themselves by the end. There were also nice little tidbits here and there that I thought was sweet.

I definitely recommend this book to the young adults out there as this story touches on a myriad of topics, for instance: homophobia, religion, racism friendship. It is about coming of age, self-discovery and self-acceptance.

South of Sunshine is about a girl named Kaycee Jean McCoy who lives in Sunshine, Tennessee. The town is typically southern and church and football are the most important things there. When new family moves t town and Kaycee meets their daughter, Bren, she starts falling for her, but she's terrified about what her family, friends and the rest of the town will think.

I think the author did a great job with the characters and descriptions. Sunshine's Main Street sounds just how I'd picture a main street in a quaint town in the south. Some characters are a bit cliché (big, bigoted football star, super religious preacher, snotty church ladies), but some of them surprised me in the end. I enjoyed the main character and the three main side characters (Bren, Van and Sarabeth).

The way Kaycee feels stifled by her small town, her upbringing and peoples' expectations of her felt very real. I love how her relationship with Bren progressed. It was slow and sweet with some hiccups along the way. I love when I get a sense of who the characters are and what they're feeling rather than having them jump into bed with someone.

After Kaycee is outed and it seems the whole community is against her, including her two best friends, she really has to find herself and figure out who she is and what she wants. Watching her try to hide who she is was heartbreaking. I just wanted to hug her and tell her that things would be ok for her. And they were. The end of the book was great! Kaycee finally start living for herself and she found some friends and allies. I like that it ties things up, but still leaves room for the reader to make their own conclusion about where the characters end up.

In South of Sunshine we met Kaycee who is living in small town Sunshine and who is trying to figure out life and most importantly trying to figure out who exactly she is. Kaycee has been trying to suppress her true feelings and emotions when it comes to her sexuality all until new girl Bren walks into school. When she sees Bren she knows she’s a goner and is instantly smitten with Bren and although she tries to keep her distance there comes a point when neither one can deny that there is something definitely there.

What I loved most about this book was that it wasn't just about her sexuality but also about discovering the person she wants to be. Kaycee knows that she wants more in life than just her small town; she wants to explore and make something of herself. I think in Bren, Kaycee saw that she could do things in life and be more than she ever thought she could be. Bren was that light that showed her anything was possible. But not everyone is so happy for them she does face prejudice and that makes her doubt herself and if she is really ready to be out. She doesn’t know if she is strong enough to handle everything that comes with being her true self.

This is a great read no matter if you are gay or straight it’s all about being your true self. It shows us that we are stronger than we think, and to always take pride in who we are and that if you lucky to find love no matter what that’s a beautiful thing. South of Sunshine is wonderful coming of age story one that demands to be read.

(I received digital ARC from Netgalley, in exchange of review )

When I first came across this book while I was on Netgally, what caught my attention were the title and the cover. SOUTH OF SUNSHINE what a beautiful title and as a reader you can’t help but wonder about it. I was. Once I read the description I had a feeling that this would be a book that I was going to love. Once I received the ARC I was excited about the book and I wasn’t disappointed. SOUTH OF SUNSHINE was a beautiful story about love, friendship and acceptance. It featured so much more than love; it had everything from anti-gay, racism and so much more. I have read few books about lesbians but nothing like this. SOUTH OF SUNSHINE is one of the most realistic coming out stories that felt real to me. What Kaycee and Bren went through, and the way that Kaycee struggled with herself, is what I can see happening in real life. I couldn’t get enough of Kaycee & Bren’s story and the emotions in this novel were astonishing.

Bren & Kaycee: I loved the relationship between the two of them, watching them fall for each other was magical. I could tell that from moment that Bren came to town, to Kaycee’s school that there was something there. I could almost feel the emotions that Kaycee was feeling when she first saw Bren, even though she wouldn’t admit it then, but she knew that there was something there. Relationship between the two of them was different but real, even though Kaycee had trouble accepting what two of them had, most of all she had trouble accepting her sexuality herself. Kaycee was trying to hide it. That was the difference between the two of them, Bren was out and open about but to Kaycee, it was new. I imagine that it couldn’t been easy for Bren to have a girlfriend who had hard time accepting herself. That what made their relationship real. From moment that two of them got together, I found myself rooting for Kaycee to accept herself so two of them could be together, without having to hide.

SOUTH OF SUNSHINE is not just a book about love but it’s about acceptance, heartbreak, hate and hope. There were so many subjects covered in this book, and there were times that you couldn’t help but feel bad for Kaycee with everything that she went through. All that she had deal from community, her mother and classmates once the truth about her sexuality came out. I was just glad that she had her friends to help her through it all. That’s true friendship and considering what they helped her with at end, that was astonishing and breathtaking. There were slow parts in book, in the beginning for me, it seemed like it slow paced for me but once it picked up, I couldn’t put it down. An astonishing debut novel by DANA ELMENDORF I can’t wait what story she has in store for us next.

Sweet coming of age story, but a little slow paced for me. I know a few friends who would adore this book though!

South of sunshine was a short novel based in a small town in western Tennessee. Being in a small town, people can be unwelcoming to different people, beliefs, race, etc. from what they don't know. This short novels delves into a life of a senior girl figuring out her own truth. She has known she was gay, but doesn't adventure into her real neig until a new pretty girl comes into town. I really enjoyed this novel. I can relate to this because I live in a small Tennessee town where I moved to when I was a senior in Highschool. People can be rude. But, I think people will understand once they understand. I think this novel touched base with this. It was great to see Kaycee grow in this novel. Her relationship with her friends, her mother and her peers was a learning experience. I really liked this perspective.

South of Sunshine is set in Tennessee so I was definitely excited to read this book when I saw it. This book is about coming out of the closet while living in the south since it is pretty much unacceptable being gay (or just different honestly) in the south. I will say I think this book conveys Tennessee perfectly especially about people who are LGBT. In the south, religion is a huge reason a lot of people are not accepting of being gay. Although I do think people are being more accepting of people’s choices more now. I wouldn’t say it is more liberal exactly than say the 90’s…just maybe a little more accepting. I’ve always wondered how other people choices directly effects them anyways but that is a whole other topic. 😉

This books covers a lot of difficult topics like homophobia and racism – typical issues in the south. I think the thing I loved most about this book is that is for sure feels like I am reading about my home state. Everything from the descriptions to the attitudes of people. The author did a fantastic job at describing how living in the south is! Kuddos to her!

Anyways, Kaycee is a senior in high school and is quite grossed out by boys. She is tired of putting on a show and pretending that she is into guys especially when Bren comes to town because they have an immediate connection. One of her friends is gay but him being gay just isn’t spoke about much. He does eventually encourage her to be herself and helps her come to terms about who she is when he realizes she is fighting the connection between her and Bren. The problem is the community is not accepting of her being gay and so basically the town turns against her. Kaycee is afraid she could lose everything.

I think this is a well written book about being gay in the south and just accepting who you are! It is a quick read but it is full of angst and emotional turmoil.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review is in video form on my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWKaBjviiSk

I have really wanted to read more LGBTQ+ books, and this checked that box. I also do have a soft spot for books set in small southern towns, and I still don't really know why. This book made me really angry, reading about such small-mindedness that adults were showing and negatively influencing younger generations to follow in their bigoted footsteps. I think a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to this book and I am so happy it has been published.

I loved this book. I love the idea of southern hospitality and knowing that life is not easy, coming out is definitely easy but when you decide to take chances and live your life that in the end, it's all worth it. I loved this book, it was such a good read, I could not put it down.