3.5★s
Sun Seekers is the first novel by American author, Rachel McRady. Grandfather has had the worm in his brain for two years: Gracie Lynn Abernathy knows it’s why he had to leave the house where Mama grew up, where they have lived since Daddy made a big mistake three years ago, and go to live in the home. The worm only wakes up when the sun goes down, so Gracie, almost seven, has a plan for fooling the worm. She and Grandfather will go on an adventure, in his 1985 Chevy Impala: they will follow the sun.

Dan Clarmont knows most people in Reading, South Carolina see him as the villain of the story of his broken family, something he truly regrets, and he knows the fact that a sleep-deprived and grieving LeeAnne refused his help with baby Gracie, excluded him from her care, is no excuse for seeking solace with Ashley, but he really wants a bigger part in Gracie’s life. Turning up at her swim meet without warning LeeAnne probably wasn’t the best idea; more unfortunate that the (now-married) predatory woman he dated only once in high school latches onto him right then.

LeeAnn Abernathy seems to be a damaged soul, full of resentment that prevents her from enjoying life: she resents the alternate days visits to the man who was such a poor parent; she resents her not-quite-ex-husband’s life with his girlfriend and new baby son; she resents her boss’s demanding and condescending attitude; she resents the clique of critical PTA moms who seem to take malicious pleasure in her every misstep; and she resents her older sister Sarah’s perfect life with her lawyer husband.

Augmenting her resentment is the grief over the loss of her beloved mama the day Gracie was born, Gracie now being her only true joy. And on this hot June day, Gracie and her demented grandfather are missing, and she will have to ask for help.

There’s nothing like a crisis to crystallise emotions and launch epiphanies, and each of the adults dealing with this terrifying ordeal has their own. Both the adult narrators spend a lot of time analysing their emotions and feelings; their behaviours, like social media hate-stalking and avoiding confrontations, don’t make them very likeable or easy to connect with.

Often, in spite of her tender age, Gracie shows more maturity and insight than her parents: “Grown-ups never think kids can hear them” and “Necessary lies are for when you don’t want to upset people. I never want to upset people, so I’ll probably have to tell many necessary lies”

Gracie’s take on her grandfather: “I don’t know why everyone says I’m so sweet for visiting Grandfather. He is the most interesting person I know” is very different from that of his daughters: “a washed-up fraud with great dreams and zero follow-through. Big John was always in search of an audience. I didn’t want to be another faceless member of his congregation, my worth only measured in my reactions. Sometimes I wanted him to listen to me, to care about my stories, my life. But that never happened.”

Where LeeAnne comes across as whiny, Gracie Lynn is a delight: she has an espionage notebook to note down clues, because “To a spy everything is a clue. And since I’m not old enough to know things yet, I’ll try to figure them out by putting the clues together”

Gracie is expressive: “Grandfather says I can’t let fear run my life, but sometimes it feels like fear is hugging me. When I feel fear I feel other things too, things that come out of fear’s belly. When I feel fear, I feel panic and I feel pain because when I am afraid I bite my bottom lip… I want to scream, but I’m too scared. Fear has my voice in her belly.” Some aspects of the story (eg the driving lesson) definitely require suspension of disbelief. An adequate debut that will resonate with some.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Alcove Books/VERVE books.