"A riveting coming-of-age story about a girl sleepwalking through a hot Midwestern summer until the sudden reappearance of her mother--and a new boy in town--challenge her to dream bigger. Readers will eagerly follow Bliss as she discovers some rainbows are worth chasing." --Laura Ruby, two-time National Book Award Finalist and author of Bone Gap

Seventeen-year-old Bliss Walker has been stuck in a home that doesn't feel like hers for six years. Ever since Mama dropped her off and never came back.

Then, the summer before her senior year of high school, two things happen: Mama returns out of the blue, and Bliss meets Blake, a boy who listens like everything she has to say is worth hearing.

It should be a dream come true. But as the summer spins on, Bliss finds herself facing a painful choice: between the life she's always longed for, and the world she's starting to make for herself.

Raw and unvarnished, Jennifer Wilson's debut about one girl's messy, unglamorous, very real summer in central Illinois is perfect for fans of Emergency Contact and Far from the Tree.

Author: Jennifer Wilson
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Harperteen
Published: 04/26/2022
Pages: 400
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9780063044654
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2022
Booklist 04/01/2022 pg. 60
Publishers Weekly 05/02/2022
School Library Journal 07/01/2022 pg. 67

About the Author
Wilson, Jennifer: -

Jennifer Wilson grew up in central Illinois and, like Bliss, she's walked beans and detasseled corn in the damp summer heat. She holds an MFA in creative writing for children and young adults from Hamline University, and a BS in Education from Indiana University. She is currently braving the icy winters and soaking up the perfect summers in Minnesota, where she is an early childhood educator. When she's not writing or teaching, she is crafting and trying to keep her one plant alive. You can visit her at www.jenniferwilsonwrites.com.