I am delighted to bring you my review for The Other Side of Sunshine by Kay DiBianca. This story is a middle grade mystery (ages 9-12), but with a protagonist who is only 10-years-old, kids on the younger side of middle grade will enjoy it. I think older kids will enjoy it too, because *I* enjoyed it and I haven’t seen 10 years old for 56 years. Haha!

Back Cover Copy

Spunky ten-year-old Reen Penterson is spending her summer writing a novel so she can become rich and famous and won’t have to go to school anymore. But when she hears a rumor of a treasure hunt in the university town she lives in, she jettisons the novel and enlists the aid of her shy and quiet nine-year-old cousin, Joanie, to help her find the loot. The adventure begins with a cryptic clue written by the mysterious “Mr. Shadow.”

Competing with other young teams of treasure seekers, Reen and Joanie form the R&J Detective Agency and doggedly track clues into a library, through dictionaries, microfiche machines, and Dewey Decimal numbers. They traipse around the campus of Bellevue University finding secrets hidden in a sundial and various forms of flora. But when they decipher a final clue that points to where the treasure is hidden, their solution is stolen by Reen’s arch-nemesis, Alicia, who claims it as her own. All appears lost, but things are never what they seem in Mr. Shadow’s world, and Reen and Joanie have one last chance to locate the treasure before time runs out.

As they struggle to decipher clues and move closer to solving the mystery, the two girls learn valuable lessons about light and shadow, teamwork, and the real meaning of treasure.

My Review

I found the story delightful because it doesn’t read “down” to kids. Reen (short for Irene) is a strong protagonist with a quick wit and mind. She can be snarky to kids she doesn’t like and encouraging to those she does. Her best friend is her 9-year-old cousin, Joanie, who is also her mystery solving partner.

The girls are smart, but they also get help from some adults and one teenager, which I loved seeing. I like that kids have adults they admire and can trust in stories.

Reen’s father and Reen memorize Scripture, which helps Reen deal with unpleasant kids like Alicia, but it also gives her encouragement when she needs it.

Since Reen’s mother was killed in a car accident when Reen was a baby, she has a nanny, Mrs. Toussaint, who keeps everyone in line. She has a twinkle in her eye and a small smile as she does it. I loved her.

The Challenge of the Treasure Hunt

The mystery kicks off when the town leaders open a time capsule which was buried on July 1, 1980. Since it’s now 40 years later, the kids in the story are amazed at things like the facts that there were no computers or cell phones back then.

In the capsule is a letter by “Mr. Shadow” who has created a treasure hunt challenge which must be completed in three days. He leaves the first clue, and the kids (who have teamed up with their friends) have to use that to find the second clue, and so on.

Reen and Joanie team up and work to figure out the first clue. Between Reen’s dad and Mrs. Toussaint’s questions, they figure it out and head to the university library.

I did NOT figure out the clue. Any of them. But I did guess who Mr. Shadow was, and I figured the treasure was not a chest of gold.

What I would have liked to see is more interaction with the teams of kids. We don’t see any teams until Alicia pops up in the library and steals Reen’s notes and location of the treasure. I really want to know what the other kids were doing!

In Conclusion

Kids who enjoy mysteries will enjoy this story. They’ll relate to Reen and Joanie, be frustrated with Alicia, hope Reen gives Will a chance for them to be friends, and cheer when Reen and Joanie find the treasure.

I, for one, am looking forward to more Reen and Joanie adventures!

About the Author

Kay DiBianca was born and raised in Georgia. She’s been married to Frank for a l-o-n-g time, and she loves it! They live in Memphis, TN. Kay has run marathons, piloted airplanes, and is an award-winning mystery author.

When asked why she writes, Kay answers, “I think we all have a desire to create. It must be part of what it means to be made in the image of God.”

The epigraph in The Other Side of Sunshine is: There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island. —Walt Disney

Indeed, Kay.  Indeed.

The Other Side of Sunshine will release in April through Elk Lake Publishing.

Pam Halter is a former home-schooling mom, has been a children’s book author since 1995, a freelance children’s book editor since 2006, and was the children’s book editor for Fruitbearer Publishing until January 2023. She’s the author of Fairyeater, a YA fantasy, and the Willoughby and Friends picture book series (available on her website.) Pam has also published short stories in Ye Olde Dragon Books , the Whitstead Anthologies and Renewed Christmas Blessings. Her first short story won Readers Choice in Realmscapes.  

Pam lives in Southern New Jersey with her husband, Daryl, special needs adult daughter, Anna, and four cats. When she’s not writing, Pam enjoys spending time with her grands, reading, quilting, gardening, cooking, playing the piano, Bible study, and walking long country roads where she discovers fairy homes, emerging dragons, and trees eating wood gnomes.