When Karen Comer’s Grace Notes came out earlier this year, it was an exciting opportunity to place a verse novel into the hands of our teenage customers. With Sunshine on Vinegar Street, middle grade readers are spoiled with an equally thoughtful and engaging read.

The once steady foundations of 12-year-old Freya’s life have been rattled. Her dad has taken up a new job in Broome, her mum’s new job has uprooted them to Abbotsford, and life as she knew it in Eltham is no more. Freya is basketball-obsessed, and desperately missing her home team. At home she is a star, hitting the court every game as the starting centre, with her two best friends on her side. On her new team, she’s struggling to make it off the bench.

Sunshine on Vinegar Street is a perfect book for eager and reluctant readers alike. The use of verse makes the page visually appealing for those who may struggle to approach larger slabs of text. Comer perfectly captures the unease of early adolescence, as big changes are happening in every corner of Freya’s life. Pick up a copy of Sunshine on Vinegar Street for a reader in your life aged 8+, especially if they’re a basketball fan.