REVIEW: Sunrise Nights by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro

Sunrise Nights is a YA romance novel written in verse by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro. A 2024 Cybil's Award Finalist for Novels in Verse, the novel tells the story of two teens: Jude, an anxious boy struggling with his parents' divorce, and Florence, a dancer who is gradually losing her eyesight. The story unfolds over three separate nights across three consecutive years, as the teens make a pact to only speak again on the final night of summer camp each year. These “sunrise nights,” allow the teens to explore Harbor City and develop a budding romance until morning before they head back to their normal lives. 

Sunrise Nights is written in alternating POVs as well as alternating form, from poetry to dialogue. A variety of poetic forms are also used, including free verse and short lyrical poems. There is no strict meter or rhyme throughout the novel, with line breaks used to add to the airy, natural tone. The shifts from dialogue to poem flow naturally, like thoughts unfolding in real time, and the conversational, youthful tone makes it feel like it was written by teens. Rhythm in Sunrise Nights is created through repetition, pacing and line breaks. Repetition and simile are also used to heighten the emotional depth of the characters’ experiences, "like a little Joan of Arc/ listening to God, like a composer teasing out a counterpoint to his melody.” The recurring imagery of the ocean and the sunrise symbolizes the teens' growing acknowledgment of life's constant change, renewal, and impermanence, “so I ended the year watching the dawn break.” While emotionally deep, Sunrise Nights is also quirky and fun with Jude and Florence exploring Harbor City hippie donut shops and anarchist coffeeshops. Timestamped poem titles such as, “Going to the Olde Style Buffet, Which, at Almost 11:00 P.M is Appearing to be Somehow Even More Questionable a Choice Than it Would Normally be, 10:49 P.M.” add to the indie film charm that is appealing to teens. 

Answers

I’m not good at the present. Tense

or otherwise. I’m always looking for the catch,

the mistake in my past that set me

up for whatever fall I'm about to take.

It’s a pattern of thinking, one that's hard

to break. I used to think that growing up

meant a skirt suit, or a mortgage, or a harder 

shell between me and the world. That I'd go bulletproof,

that I'd know too much to ever be hurt. Forward 

and back. Forward and back. Never the now. Even

now, on the shoreline, the tide tries to tug me away

and I let it, I let myself in to what I’m feeling, I feel

like I’m standing on the edge of something

beautiful. I feel like I might break open

and spill out into the stars. I feel like the soft palm 

of dawn rising up over the water. I feel Jude 

beside me like the end of my next thought,

something I can tell him and so make it whole.

The two of us, a story. Better than any book. I feel like

we should walk around all night and talk about it. 

In a high school library setting, I would introduce students to “Answers” in a low-stakes way. Rather than formal discussion, I would encourage low-pressure reflection, such as: posting a prompt nearby: What does ‘standing on the edge of something’ mean to you? I would also encourage students to leave anonymous sticky-note responses or favorite lines that stood out to them.

Sunrise Nights is an excellent choice for hesitant teen readers through its approachable verse style underlined with thematic depth. The accessible language and conversational tone make it especially relevant for teens who may not see themselves as 'poetry readers' and many will be able to relate to both Jude and Florence’s experiences. Overall, Sunrise Nights is a compelling YA novel in verse that will connect with readers due to the emotional honesty, charming romance, and exploration of relevant topics such as mental health and fear of an uncertain future. While relatable themes make the novel in verse appealing to a wide range of teens; due to adult language, slight sexual innuendo, and drug references, I only recommend it to mature high school readers.

Zentner, J., & Cavallaro, B. (2025). Sunrise nights. Quill Tree Books. 978-0063324541