44 pages 1 hour read

Jason Reynolds

Sunny

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“Because I’m weird. Which you definitely know. You know I like weird stuff. And everything about milk is weird. Even the word “milk,” which I think probably sounds like what milk sounds like when you guzzle it. Milkmilkmilkmilkmilk. I should start over.”


(Chapter 1, Page 2)

Sunny often interrupts himself in his diary and his writing goes off on marginally related tangents. This quote also shows how Sunny thinks about sound and the device of onomatopoeia, i.e., words that sonically mimic the things they describe. This will continue to be important to Sunny as he develops his interest in dance and movement and his belief that each movement has an accompanying sound attached to it that brings the sound to life. 

Quotation Mark Icon

“When I was a little kid and was all yelly-yelly and Darryl wanted me to be more hushy-hushy, he gave me you and told me to put the noise on your pages whenever I felt like I needed to, which was all the time except for when I was running or sleeping.”


(Chapter 1, Page 3)

Sunny explains the origins of his diary, which also reveals early on the strained relationship with his father, Darryl. This is the first time Sunny mentions Darryl, and it is not clear at first that Darryl is Sunny’s father. Calling him “Darryl” shows the distance between them. Sunny reveals that his father is the one who gave him the diary originally to process his thoughts privately rather than aloud. While Darryl giving Sunny a journal in part shows a sense of care for Sunny’s mental state after his mother’s passing, Sunny internalizes this to mean that Darryl doesn’t want Sunny to bother him and to be more “hushy-hushy.” This solidifies the awkwardness and distance between Sunny and Darryl that they spend the rest of the

Related Titles

By Jason Reynolds

Study Guide

logo

Ain't Burned All the Bright

Jason Reynolds

Ain't Burned All the Bright

Jason Reynolds

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

All American Boys

Brendan Kiely, Jason Reynolds

All American Boys

Brendan Kiely, Jason Reynolds

Study Guide

logo

Eraser Tattoo

Jason Reynolds

Eraser Tattoo

Jason Reynolds

Study Guide

logo

For Every One

Jason Reynolds

For Every One

Jason Reynolds

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

Jason Reynolds

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

Jason Reynolds

Study Guide

logo

Miles Morales: Spider-Man

Jason Reynolds

Miles Morales: Spider-Man

Jason Reynolds

Study Guide

logo

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds

Study Guide

logo

Stuntboy, in the Meantime

Jason Reynolds

Stuntboy, in the Meantime

Jason Reynolds

Study Guide

logo

The Boy in the Black Suit

Jason Reynolds

The Boy in the Black Suit

Jason Reynolds

Study Guide

logo

There Was a Party for Langston

Jason Reynolds

There Was a Party for Langston

Jason Reynolds