Breaking Into Sunlight - by John Cochran (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection ★ An Indie Next pick

This powerful and compassionate book follows a family's journey through the turbulence of parental addiction--and the moments of connection and healing that break through the dark days.

Reese is a seventh-grader in rural North Carolina who loves drawing, basketball, his hardworking mom, and his charming, charismatic dad. But then one day, he comes home to his worst nightmare - his dad on the floor, lips turning blue, overdosed. Again. Reese calls 911 and gets his dad out of danger, and he expects to go on as before. But for his mom, this is the breaking point, and she declares that she and Reese are leaving until Reese's dad gets real help with his addiction. They move to a rundown trailer outside of town, where Reese is furious with his mom, scared for his dad, and terrified his friends will find out.
Then he meets Meg and Charlie, who have likewise been stranded by circumstances beyond their control. As the trio explores the blackwater river that runs nearby, Reese discovers new beauty and joy in nature and these fresh connections. His dad is also doing better, holding things together, and talking to his mom again. But how long can the good times last? And what will Reese do if--when--they end?

In the United States today, an estimated one in four kids live with a parent or relative with a substance-abuse problem. Written with bracing honesty, deep sympathy, and tenderness for all its characters, Breaking into Sunlight offers readers a powerful affirmation that no one is alone.

★ "An important novel for every library to have." --School Library Journal, starred review

Review Quotes

"Breaking into Sunlight is a clear-eyed story of addiction and its terrible aftermath, but one full of sympathy, generosity, and hope. This is a book defiant in its honesty and bursting with heart, wrapped around one of the most authentic thirteen year olds I've read in years."--Laurel Snyder, author of Orphan Island and The Witch of Woodland

"Breaking into Sunlight is a beautifully written, powerful and sensitive portrayal of addiction's impact on a family and especially a child. Cochran has written an important book, one that captures the heartache and struggles of kids like Reese during the opioid crisis that decimated America, especially the rural communities Cochran knows so well."--Katherine Marsh, author of The Night Tourist and The Lost Year

Praise for Breaking into Sunlight:
Winner of the 2025 Whippoorwill Book Award
An Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award middle grade winner
Nominated for the South Carolina Book Award
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
An Indie Next pick
A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
A Child Mind Institute best kids' book for mental health
A New York Public Library best book of the year for kids
An American Booksellers Association best book by a debut author
An Imagination Soup best middle grade book

* "Cochran's debut delivers a poignant, relatable read ... an important novel for every library to have."--School Library Journal, starred review

"Debut author Cochran delivers a sensitive narrative that captures the complex guilt of self-care among those with addicted loved ones. ... A simple and powerful tale about the impact of parental addiction."--Kirkus Reviews

"This is not a cautionary tale or a sob story, but a shimmering journey, reminding us that life, in all its complexity, can be both enchanting and devastating all at once."--Jake Halpern, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and New York Times bestselling author of Nightfall

About the Author

John Cochran grew up in Kansas City and studied journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He worked as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in Missouri, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina before moving to Washington, D.C., to cover Congress for Congressional Quarterly. The National Press Foundation recognized his work with its Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress. He now lives on Capitol Hill with his wife and children. Breaking into Sunlight is his first novel. He invites you to visit him online at www.johncochranauthor.com.