SOMEDAY WE’LL FIND IT

A high school junior reevaluates her future after her absentee mother returns.

It’s been almost 6 years since 17-year-old Bliss Walker’s mother left her with relatives in Illinois for a modeling job in Japan. Since then, Bliss has tried to make the most of her life with her Aunt Trish, Uncle Leo, and 18-year-old cousin, Patsy, but she nevertheless feels like an interloper. Hotheaded boyfriend River promises to bring Bliss along when he leaves behind rural, mostly White Lakeville with its endless fields of corn and beans. Then Mama unexpectedly returns with promises of teaming up as a mother-daughter modeling duo in Eastern Europe. To add more confusion, in comes Blake, a biracial (Chinese and assumed White) Chicago transplant whose family runs an organic farm where Bliss and Patsy have summer jobs. There’s something that keeps pulling Bliss toward Blake, perhaps because he’s the only one who asks her, “What makes you happy?” Wilson unravels how much Bliss’ life revolves around prioritizing other people. Bliss downplays her needs and wants in ways that to her feel reasonable; her empathy and loyalty turn into making excuses for others. The book explores complicated, messy relationships that include elements of rivalry, jealousy, love, and care as well as questions of consent and sexual intimacy. After years of undervaluing herself, it takes some deeply intense moments for Bliss to begin to see how dysfunctional and unbalanced her relationships are.

An intimate story of growth and self-respect.