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The Sun Does Shine
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times, now adapted for younger readers, with a revised foreword by Just Mercy author Bryan Stevenson.
In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only 29 years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free.
But with a criminal justice system with the cards stacked against Black men, Hinton was sentenced to death . He spent his first three years on Death Row in despairing silence―angry and full of hatred for all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon―transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.
With themes both timely and timeless, Hinton’s memoir tells his dramatic 30-year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.
The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times, now adapted for younger readers, with a revised foreword by Just Mercy author Bryan Stevenson.
In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only 29 years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free.
But with a criminal justice system with the cards stacked against Black men, Hinton was sentenced to death . He spent his first three years on Death Row in despairing silence―angry and full of hatred for all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon―transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.
With themes both timely and timeless, Hinton’s memoir tells his dramatic 30-year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 14, 2022
70 people are currently reading
1264 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Ray Hinton
2 books730 followersAnthony Ray Hinton spent nearly thirty years on death row for crimes he didn’t commit. Released in April 2015, Hinton now speaks widely on prison reform and the power of faith and forgiveness. He lives in Alabama.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
July 9, 2022
everybody in the world should read this book. the end.
February 17, 2023
Anthony Ray Hinton (people call him Ray) was convicted of the murder of two store clerks during robberies, despite the fact that he was at work, where a security guard locked him in and the gun they tied to the crimes hadn't been fired in years. His public defender (who was friends with the prosecution) failed to give him adequate defense and a good ballistics expert. Ray spent nearly 30 years of death row, watching and smelling people (his family) be executed. His mother never gave up hope for his release, but passed away. His best friend, Lester, never missed a visiting day. Eventually, Ray gets the help of Bryan Stevenson who spends over 15 years working through the legal system. The Supreme Court unanimously decides that he was not given adequate council, and then Alabama drops all charges. Throughout his time in prison, Hinton was able to escape through his imagination and through a book club, befriending others. This is an incredibly powerful story of the human soul's ability to be resilient, forgiving, and compassionate in the face of the worst of cruelties.
The worst part of the book is the horrifying look of a system not of justice, but of injustice. The injustice starts at the very beginning, where the poor have no chance, where our society and systems neglect, abuse, and forget people and, when they commit crimes, then punishes them unequally and cruelly. The Death Penalty is not only revenge and torture and cruel in a system that is supposed to be morally superior, it is such a deeply imperfect system, that it can only be a huge miscarriage of justice. One in ten people on Death Row are statistically innocent, more murders happen in states with the Death Penalty than those that have abolished it (so it certainly is not a deterrent), and it is obviously racially and economically biased. Perhaps worst of all was the books' spotlight on his the justice system is so convoluted that it bends away from being able to prove anyone innocent.
This book would pair brilliantly with 12 Angry Men, Monster, and To Kill a Mockingbird (the inmates are reading the last book). Particularly with TKMB taking place in Alabama and concerning poverty, lynching, race, and justice.
My one complaint about the book, which is a "Young Reader's Edition" is the complaint I have about a lot of "Young Reader's Editions". Which is that the writing is very weak. I'm not sure why the adaptors think they have to make the sentence structures so simple as to be painfully awkward to read. It made the narration feel inauthentic. I think YRE are a great idea because there are some subject matters that young people aren't quite ready to handle (or their parents aren't ready for them to handle), so to soften an important biography or story to a younger audience is a good idea. Young people care about justice and are thirsty for complex, real stories. But, as they enter their awareness of global issues, it might be best to go slow for their maturity level. But the thing that bothers me about a lot of YA and YRE is that they treat YA readers like idiots, or like little jars that need to be filled. There is so much preaching and telling. It's not good. Give them the story, give them the excellent quotes from experts and statistics, give them the authentic voice of the narration. They can grasp the themes and messages on their own. Let the stories tell themselves to young people. They'll respect it more.
(Also, I'm not sure we needed the parts about him imagining he was marrying celebrities. I'm not saying I blame a person, particularly a person in such horrible circumstances, for day dreaming, but I'm just thinking that those parts should remain private, or not in a YRE. It felt uncomfortable and dehumanizing to women.
"It is important to understand how someone who had money is able to buy their way out of jail or prison, so you're much better off in our justice system if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent." ~Sam Brooke SPLC
"But really, he knew that it would set them free. If the guys had books, they could travel the world. They would get smarter and freer. There was a reason back in the days of slavery and plantation owners didn't want the enslaved people to learn to read."
"Stories have given me a place in which to lose myself. They have allowed me to remember. They have allowed me to forget. They have allowed me to imagine different endings and better possible worlds." ~Roxane Gay
"We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, forswear compassion, and as a result, deny our humanity." ~Bryan Stevensen
"It would take me a long time to understand how systems inflict pain and hardship in people's lives and to learn that being kind in an unjust system is not enough." ~Sister Helen Prejean
"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read." ~James Baldwin
"Life is brutal, tragic, unbearable, and inhumane at times. Ray knew that the pain one man can cause another was limitless, but he didn't see--he couldn't see--how creating more pain made anything better. When you took a life, it didn't bring back a life. It didn't undo what was done. It wasn't logical. This was just creating an endless chain of death and killing. It was barbaric. No baby is born a murderer. No toddler dreams of being on death row someday. Every killed on death row was taught to be a killer--by parents, by a system, by the brutality of another brutalized person--but no one was born a killer."
"It wasn't fair that justice could be so arbitrary and the truth so hard for the State to admit."
"The perpetrator should not live while the victim has no choice. People on death row had earned their spots on death row, and justice cannot be consumed with protecting the rights of the guilty. But the system didn't know who was guilty. There was a moral difference between kidnapping and murdering a man, and imprisoning and executing a man. There was no moral equivalence, even when both things ended in death. But death had never deterred death. And guilt could not be certain without an admission of guilt. A person could believe in the death penalty and still believe it should be ended, because men are fallible and the justice system is fallible."
"Can we judge who deserves to live and who deserves to die? Do we have that right, and do we have that right when we know that we are often wrong? If one our of every ten planes crashed, we would stop all flights until we figured out what was broken. Our system is broke; isn't it time to put a stop to the death penalty? Bryan refences the famous saying about how the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice, and he adds that justice needs help. Justice only happens when good people take a stand against injustice. The moral arc of the universe needs people to support it as it bends."
The worst part of the book is the horrifying look of a system not of justice, but of injustice. The injustice starts at the very beginning, where the poor have no chance, where our society and systems neglect, abuse, and forget people and, when they commit crimes, then punishes them unequally and cruelly. The Death Penalty is not only revenge and torture and cruel in a system that is supposed to be morally superior, it is such a deeply imperfect system, that it can only be a huge miscarriage of justice. One in ten people on Death Row are statistically innocent, more murders happen in states with the Death Penalty than those that have abolished it (so it certainly is not a deterrent), and it is obviously racially and economically biased. Perhaps worst of all was the books' spotlight on his the justice system is so convoluted that it bends away from being able to prove anyone innocent.
This book would pair brilliantly with 12 Angry Men, Monster, and To Kill a Mockingbird (the inmates are reading the last book). Particularly with TKMB taking place in Alabama and concerning poverty, lynching, race, and justice.
My one complaint about the book, which is a "Young Reader's Edition" is the complaint I have about a lot of "Young Reader's Editions". Which is that the writing is very weak. I'm not sure why the adaptors think they have to make the sentence structures so simple as to be painfully awkward to read. It made the narration feel inauthentic. I think YRE are a great idea because there are some subject matters that young people aren't quite ready to handle (or their parents aren't ready for them to handle), so to soften an important biography or story to a younger audience is a good idea. Young people care about justice and are thirsty for complex, real stories. But, as they enter their awareness of global issues, it might be best to go slow for their maturity level. But the thing that bothers me about a lot of YA and YRE is that they treat YA readers like idiots, or like little jars that need to be filled. There is so much preaching and telling. It's not good. Give them the story, give them the excellent quotes from experts and statistics, give them the authentic voice of the narration. They can grasp the themes and messages on their own. Let the stories tell themselves to young people. They'll respect it more.
(Also, I'm not sure we needed the parts about him imagining he was marrying celebrities. I'm not saying I blame a person, particularly a person in such horrible circumstances, for day dreaming, but I'm just thinking that those parts should remain private, or not in a YRE. It felt uncomfortable and dehumanizing to women.
"It is important to understand how someone who had money is able to buy their way out of jail or prison, so you're much better off in our justice system if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent." ~Sam Brooke SPLC
"But really, he knew that it would set them free. If the guys had books, they could travel the world. They would get smarter and freer. There was a reason back in the days of slavery and plantation owners didn't want the enslaved people to learn to read."
"Stories have given me a place in which to lose myself. They have allowed me to remember. They have allowed me to forget. They have allowed me to imagine different endings and better possible worlds." ~Roxane Gay
"We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, forswear compassion, and as a result, deny our humanity." ~Bryan Stevensen
"It would take me a long time to understand how systems inflict pain and hardship in people's lives and to learn that being kind in an unjust system is not enough." ~Sister Helen Prejean
"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read." ~James Baldwin
"Life is brutal, tragic, unbearable, and inhumane at times. Ray knew that the pain one man can cause another was limitless, but he didn't see--he couldn't see--how creating more pain made anything better. When you took a life, it didn't bring back a life. It didn't undo what was done. It wasn't logical. This was just creating an endless chain of death and killing. It was barbaric. No baby is born a murderer. No toddler dreams of being on death row someday. Every killed on death row was taught to be a killer--by parents, by a system, by the brutality of another brutalized person--but no one was born a killer."
"It wasn't fair that justice could be so arbitrary and the truth so hard for the State to admit."
"The perpetrator should not live while the victim has no choice. People on death row had earned their spots on death row, and justice cannot be consumed with protecting the rights of the guilty. But the system didn't know who was guilty. There was a moral difference between kidnapping and murdering a man, and imprisoning and executing a man. There was no moral equivalence, even when both things ended in death. But death had never deterred death. And guilt could not be certain without an admission of guilt. A person could believe in the death penalty and still believe it should be ended, because men are fallible and the justice system is fallible."
"Can we judge who deserves to live and who deserves to die? Do we have that right, and do we have that right when we know that we are often wrong? If one our of every ten planes crashed, we would stop all flights until we figured out what was broken. Our system is broke; isn't it time to put a stop to the death penalty? Bryan refences the famous saying about how the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice, and he adds that justice needs help. Justice only happens when good people take a stand against injustice. The moral arc of the universe needs people to support it as it bends."
February 13, 2025
What an incredible story! Ray was wrongly convicted of murdering 2 people in Alabama in 1985. He was sent to death row, where he fought his case for thirty years. THIRTY YEARS!!!! Ray faced disappointment after disappointment as he tried to prove his innocence.
He is such a strong man to endure all that and come out the other side with forgiveness for those who wronged him.
I was only able to get my hands on the young readers' edition, and I would love to know what I missed out on in the adult version.
He is such a strong man to endure all that and come out the other side with forgiveness for those who wronged him.
I was only able to get my hands on the young readers' edition, and I would love to know what I missed out on in the adult version.
April 4, 2022
I didn’t read the young readers edition, but I couldn’t find another edition to select. But this book was amazing. Even if I knew how it would end…
December 19, 2024
Great ending!! Really loved it all!
July 30, 2022
I'm not sure if it's because I knew the story and had read the adult version of the book, but I felt like the other dealt more with his emotional state and how he survived all those years without giving up and, for me, that was one of the most powerful parts of the book. There is some of it in this one, but this is a book ALL kids should be reading as there is so much to discuss in this one. Important! Glad they rewrote this one for a younger audience.
November 2, 2023
The Sun Does Shine is a heart-wrenching memoir that chronicles the life of Anthony Ray Hinton, an African American who endured an unjust three-decade-long imprisonment on death row. There comes a moment during his imprisonment that captures a pivotal change in his journey where he experienced a profound change of heart.
Despite being confined to death row against his will, he found himself consumed by thoughts of revenge and even contemplating ending his own life. It was a dark and desperate place to be. However, amidst the despair, he realized something profound - he still had choices.
At that moment, the weight of his circumstances collided with the realization that he could choose a different path. Despair, hatred, and anger were choices he had made, but he also had the power to choose hope, faith, and, above all, love. This newfound understanding shook him to his core.
It is important to acknowledge the incredible efforts of Bryan Stevenson, the legal champion who tirelessly fought for justice and ultimately proved Anthony's innocence. As Anthony walked out of those prison gates, his mother's tearful voice echoed through the air, expressing gratitude to the King of kings, "Thank you, Jesus."
The Sun Does Shine taught me that even in the darkest of times, we still have the ability to choose compassion, hope, and love.
Despite being confined to death row against his will, he found himself consumed by thoughts of revenge and even contemplating ending his own life. It was a dark and desperate place to be. However, amidst the despair, he realized something profound - he still had choices.
At that moment, the weight of his circumstances collided with the realization that he could choose a different path. Despair, hatred, and anger were choices he had made, but he also had the power to choose hope, faith, and, above all, love. This newfound understanding shook him to his core.
It is important to acknowledge the incredible efforts of Bryan Stevenson, the legal champion who tirelessly fought for justice and ultimately proved Anthony's innocence. As Anthony walked out of those prison gates, his mother's tearful voice echoed through the air, expressing gratitude to the King of kings, "Thank you, Jesus."
The Sun Does Shine taught me that even in the darkest of times, we still have the ability to choose compassion, hope, and love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2025
An amazing story of triumph and hope. Just Mercy is perhaps my favorite book and I was excited to see one of the other sides of his story when I came across this book. Ray Hinton comes across as an unbelievably optimistic person, a fascinating example of the strength of human will. On the other hand, a bare, ugly truth of abuse of power in our legal system and a powerful argument against the death penalty.
February 21, 2023
i love this book so much. i can't even. it is wonderful and beautiful and i love it.
September 16, 2025
Good book everyone should read this until the end. Good family read 🤦🏽♀️ wow 30 years?!?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2025
my heart 🥺
June 26, 2022
Such an important and sobering story. Ray's story is proof that our justice system needs reform, that friendship and faith in God are powerful weapons, and that forgiveness and imagination can provide liberation in the darkest of places.
February 16, 2024
Is escaping from reality a sin, or is it a free ticket to go wherever you want? In the book "The Sun Does Shine," Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder and was sentenced to death because of racist criminal justice. Living 5 feet away from the electric chair for 30 years, he was always terrified when they would call his name to take him to the chair. In this environment, his imagination was his coping mechanism to escape. He imagined having a vacation in Europe, drinking beer by the ocean when in real life, he could smell the burnt smell of death; he could hear them screaming as they were electrocuted. Throughout the book, he faces several challenges. There were some moments when people told him to give up—telling him that there was no way to get out of death row.
This book teaches about the guy who survived in a place without hope and where you can't see the light in the never-ending tunnel.
This book teaches about the guy who survived in a place without hope and where you can't see the light in the never-ending tunnel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2024
The sun does shine, by Anthony Ray Hinton, Book Review.
This book is a biography about the struggles Anthony, or Ray, had to go through to find justice. Ray was black, and grew up in Alabama, so life was hard for him, and he was bullied because of the color of his skin. He graduated high school, and went to work in the coal mines. Though the work was dangerous, years earlier his father had been knocked senseless in a mining accident, Ray earned decent wages, enough to keep him going, although he hated working in the small enclosed area. Eventually he quit the mines, in hope of obtaining a more successful job. However, he ended up stealing a car. Though he eventually returned it, the theft gave him a bad reputation with the cops. Then one day the cops showed up and took him away without an explanation, eventually telling him that he was being charged with a kidnapping, a robbery, and a murder. Though Ray was innocent, in his trial the judge found him guilty of the crime, one of the reasons being that Ray was black, and they didn’t want to give the public a reason to think that they had wrongly arrested Ray, and the real murderer was still out there. They put Ray on death row, the part of the prison that once sentenced they can take you, and either electrocute you to death, or later be injected with a serum that immediately kills you.
The book covers Ray’s struggles with prison life, lawyers, and trying to find a way to prove his innocence.
This book changed my view towards the justice system, and how unfair it used to be. I would consider the book life changing because it tells a true story about how justice in the southern part of the US used to be.
The book is a memoir on the part of Ray’s life that he spent in prison, the friends that he made,and the many lawyers that came to try to get Ray out of jail, and everything that happened in the book actually happened in real life.
The main characters in the book are Ray, his mom, his best friend, Larry, the main setting is the prison where Ray is stuck for the majority of the book, and the main plot is the struggle to prove Ray’s innocence.
The main thing that I noticed throughout this book is that the whole time, the only thing that Ray seems to care about is proving to the world that he’s not a murderer, and proving that to his mother and best friend. Ray had a total of four lawyers, Sheldon Perhacs, who left because they couldn’t pay his bills, Santha Sonenberg who left when she failed to get Ray’s case approved by the senate , Alan Black who left partly because he was a red sox fan, and Ray was a yankees fan, and they didn’t get along, and the final one, Bryon Stevenson, who was the head of the company that sent Santha and Alan. Bryon was Ray’s favorite lawyer and he promised to take Ray to a Yankees/Red Sox game when he got out of jail.
This book is a biography about the struggles Anthony, or Ray, had to go through to find justice. Ray was black, and grew up in Alabama, so life was hard for him, and he was bullied because of the color of his skin. He graduated high school, and went to work in the coal mines. Though the work was dangerous, years earlier his father had been knocked senseless in a mining accident, Ray earned decent wages, enough to keep him going, although he hated working in the small enclosed area. Eventually he quit the mines, in hope of obtaining a more successful job. However, he ended up stealing a car. Though he eventually returned it, the theft gave him a bad reputation with the cops. Then one day the cops showed up and took him away without an explanation, eventually telling him that he was being charged with a kidnapping, a robbery, and a murder. Though Ray was innocent, in his trial the judge found him guilty of the crime, one of the reasons being that Ray was black, and they didn’t want to give the public a reason to think that they had wrongly arrested Ray, and the real murderer was still out there. They put Ray on death row, the part of the prison that once sentenced they can take you, and either electrocute you to death, or later be injected with a serum that immediately kills you.
The book covers Ray’s struggles with prison life, lawyers, and trying to find a way to prove his innocence.
This book changed my view towards the justice system, and how unfair it used to be. I would consider the book life changing because it tells a true story about how justice in the southern part of the US used to be.
The book is a memoir on the part of Ray’s life that he spent in prison, the friends that he made,and the many lawyers that came to try to get Ray out of jail, and everything that happened in the book actually happened in real life.
The main characters in the book are Ray, his mom, his best friend, Larry, the main setting is the prison where Ray is stuck for the majority of the book, and the main plot is the struggle to prove Ray’s innocence.
The main thing that I noticed throughout this book is that the whole time, the only thing that Ray seems to care about is proving to the world that he’s not a murderer, and proving that to his mother and best friend. Ray had a total of four lawyers, Sheldon Perhacs, who left because they couldn’t pay his bills, Santha Sonenberg who left when she failed to get Ray’s case approved by the senate , Alan Black who left partly because he was a red sox fan, and Ray was a yankees fan, and they didn’t get along, and the final one, Bryon Stevenson, who was the head of the company that sent Santha and Alan. Bryon was Ray’s favorite lawyer and he promised to take Ray to a Yankees/Red Sox game when he got out of jail.
October 11, 2022
This wasn't on my radar until recently and now I can't imagine not reading it. There is a strength in this story that reads differently and puts a period at the end of a sentence about how unjust the justice system was/is. Note: I have not read the adult version that this YA edition is based off of and because I was blown away by this one, I likely won't. The tenor of the story written by Hinton, but in the third person, not the first person is one of the reasons the tone has a shift that is more powerfully spoken. For a man who had to live his life by how others wanted him to live it (when to wake up, what to eat, when to bathe) he chose to write the story from a different vantage point.
He centers it on his connections with a childhood friend, Lester, who continued to visit him during his thirty years behind bars and on death row in Alabama. He focuses on his mother. He gives examples about how relationships in life are important with no chapter hitting harder for me than the one related to his book group reading Angelou and Baldwin. It was moving.
The system was broken and it remained broken to the very end, however champion, Bryan Stevenson, was there to manipulate the pathetic system in ways that secured his release. Hinton had to understand that there wasn't a white woman in the car narrating where to drive (that's GPS) and what a debit card was (no cash needed which is why he thought he was stealing the food). Missing his 30s, 40s, and 50s. Not having a retirement so he'd be working to support himself. Losing his mother while he was still behind bars.
It truly was a long path to justice but these are narratives that should be read so that youth can ask questions and challenge the system, but also still believe in humanity. We should be thankful for people like Stevenson, but also hold up Hinton, who could have turned down a dark and solitary path but instead chose to believe that 'the sun does shine.'
He centers it on his connections with a childhood friend, Lester, who continued to visit him during his thirty years behind bars and on death row in Alabama. He focuses on his mother. He gives examples about how relationships in life are important with no chapter hitting harder for me than the one related to his book group reading Angelou and Baldwin. It was moving.
The system was broken and it remained broken to the very end, however champion, Bryan Stevenson, was there to manipulate the pathetic system in ways that secured his release. Hinton had to understand that there wasn't a white woman in the car narrating where to drive (that's GPS) and what a debit card was (no cash needed which is why he thought he was stealing the food). Missing his 30s, 40s, and 50s. Not having a retirement so he'd be working to support himself. Losing his mother while he was still behind bars.
It truly was a long path to justice but these are narratives that should be read so that youth can ask questions and challenge the system, but also still believe in humanity. We should be thankful for people like Stevenson, but also hold up Hinton, who could have turned down a dark and solitary path but instead chose to believe that 'the sun does shine.'
October 12, 2025
“The Sun Does Shine” is one of those rare, life-changing books that stays with you long after you’ve turned the final page. Written by Anthony Ray Hinton, a man wrongfully imprisoned for nearly three decades on death row, this memoir is a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit, the triumph of hope over despair, and the unbreakable belief in justice and humanity.
People called him Ray, and through his words, you come to know not just the man who endured unimaginable suffering, but the soul who refused to let hatred and bitterness define him. His story begins with a horrifying injustice — arrested for crimes he did not commit — and continues through thirty long years in a small cell where light was scarce but faith was abundant.
What makes this book extraordinary is not just the injustice it exposes, but the grace, humor, and forgiveness that Ray carries in his heart. His friendship with other inmates, his resilience in the face of a broken system, and his unwavering belief that the sun would one day shine again make this memoir deeply human and profoundly inspiring.
Every page radiates courage, empathy, and the reminder that even in the darkest corners, hope can bloom. Bryan Stevenson’s foreword and presence in Ray’s story amplify the message of redemption and the urgent need for reform in the criminal justice system.
By the time you finish, you don’t just admire Anthony Ray Hinton — you believe in him. You believe in the power of forgiveness, in the endurance of faith, and in the unyielding brightness of the human soul.
If ever there was a book that could change hearts and open eyes, The Sun Does Shine is it.
An unforgettable, soul-stirring masterpiece — a must-read for everyone who believes in justice, humanity, and hope.
March 16, 2023
Anthony Ray Hinton (friends call him Ray) was locked in, cleaning a building in Alabama when a man was killed about 20 minutes away. Despite a lack of evidence and the fact that Hinton did not leave the building, he was convicted of that murder as well as two similar crimes. A white judge, white lawyer, and white jury convicted him. His real crime? Being poor and Black in Alabama. Hinton despaired for a short time, was angry, gave up hope, and hated the people who had done this to him. However, his mom, his best friend, and his faith gave him the courage and the hope that he needed to not just survive 30 years in solitary confinement on death row but to survive it with humor, grace, and dignity. Hinton shares his story in this eye opening, heart wrenching look at the toll that death row takes on its inmates but also how Hinton was able to see the good in his fellow inmates, even a KKK member who was there for a heinous murder of a Black boy. He details his struggles with the law and with his faith but how the constant visits from his mama, his best friend, and (eventually) his lawyer Bryan Stevenson from the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI).
I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about the American penal system and/or get involved in social justice.
CW: racism and extreme prejudice, some descriptions of murders and death by electrocution
Grades 7 and up
I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about the American penal system and/or get involved in social justice.
CW: racism and extreme prejudice, some descriptions of murders and death by electrocution
Grades 7 and up
February 8, 2024
His name was Anthony Ray Hinton, but people called him Ray”. This line is repeated multiple times throughout the book, and for reasons I can’t explain, I felt joy each time. Maybe it was because it made Ray human-not just an invisible hidden away convict on death row? Maybe it was because the line exuded the pride of the author, the pride in who Ray is, not just the person behind the given name at birth? What I do know is that this book is one of those books that , once you start reading/listening, you don’t want to stop. To summarize: Ray is an innocent man who is framed for a murder he didn’t commit. He is then sentenced to death row and spends years attempting to prove his innocence, despite roadblocks and setbacks put in his way by the criminal justice system. I was not aware that this was the young readers edition when I started listening and I don’t think that I have read a young readers edition before, but this version is well written. I may have to read the original version so I can educate myself about the difference in editions, Ray’s story is that good! The author has a way of intertwining history and factual information regarding the criminal justice system with Ray’s experiences that left me feeling anger towards to the people who failed him, empathy towards Ray, his death row cell mates and the people who tried to help him, as well as disbelief with what is actually allowed to happen. As I read more I find that I suggest some books as a book that everyone should read. This is one of those books.
January 30, 2025
The Sun Does Shine is a book about Anthony Ray Hinton who goes by Ray. He was convicted for the murder of two people and even though there was no evidence to point to him he was sent to death row since he was black and everyone else involved in the trial was white, the judge, the jury, and his defendant who did not care that the wrong person was about to be sent to death row.
This book was a very interesting book and I learned a lot about different stereotypes. I also learned how easily you can be convicted with an unfair trial and how biased the justice system can be.
The Sun Does shine shows the impact of faith and also highlights the racism in our society and the effects that this problem still has on our society. On death row Ray starts a book club for anyone who wants to build community and find friendship in a hard place. Some people don't know how to read but Ray still lets them come to the book club and goes so far as to teach them.
Ray shows how much faith can affect you even in the toughest of situations. Throughout his time on death row he started a boo club and helped many of the inmates come to faith. This book is similar to a book called Just Mercy which is written by brian stevenson who is the lawyer who helped Ray and many other people on death row who were wrongfully convicted get a fair trial.
This is a really meaningful story and I would recommend middle schoolers and high schoolers to read this book because the book has complex ideas that would be hard for someone younger to understand. The ideas are important for a middle schooler to learn because not only do they learn about history but they also highlight this country's historic racism. More people should read this book because it is an important reflection of our history whether that history reflects poorly on our country or not.
I couldn't put the book down from start to finish. The book didn't move too fast but there was always a captivating moment. The book tries to reflect how terrible the death penalty is and also the fact that some of the people there want to change and become better and reform. The book is in first person and you really get a sense of what Ray is going through. And you are sad the whole book because someone who builds his character and shows that he is a good person who has a strong faith and a will to help others.
This whole book helps you see the fact that racism is still absolutely present in our modern society and all it takes is one racist policeman and a system that is easily influenced by bias.
This book was meaningful for my hero's journey because i was capable of realizing that we don't live in a perfect world and every person has to watch the world for injustice because if you don’t and you don't pay attention to the things happening around you something like Ray’s story could happen without you even noticing or doing anything to stop it.
This book was a very interesting book and I learned a lot about different stereotypes. I also learned how easily you can be convicted with an unfair trial and how biased the justice system can be.
The Sun Does shine shows the impact of faith and also highlights the racism in our society and the effects that this problem still has on our society. On death row Ray starts a book club for anyone who wants to build community and find friendship in a hard place. Some people don't know how to read but Ray still lets them come to the book club and goes so far as to teach them.
Ray shows how much faith can affect you even in the toughest of situations. Throughout his time on death row he started a boo club and helped many of the inmates come to faith. This book is similar to a book called Just Mercy which is written by brian stevenson who is the lawyer who helped Ray and many other people on death row who were wrongfully convicted get a fair trial.
This is a really meaningful story and I would recommend middle schoolers and high schoolers to read this book because the book has complex ideas that would be hard for someone younger to understand. The ideas are important for a middle schooler to learn because not only do they learn about history but they also highlight this country's historic racism. More people should read this book because it is an important reflection of our history whether that history reflects poorly on our country or not.
I couldn't put the book down from start to finish. The book didn't move too fast but there was always a captivating moment. The book tries to reflect how terrible the death penalty is and also the fact that some of the people there want to change and become better and reform. The book is in first person and you really get a sense of what Ray is going through. And you are sad the whole book because someone who builds his character and shows that he is a good person who has a strong faith and a will to help others.
This whole book helps you see the fact that racism is still absolutely present in our modern society and all it takes is one racist policeman and a system that is easily influenced by bias.
This book was meaningful for my hero's journey because i was capable of realizing that we don't live in a perfect world and every person has to watch the world for injustice because if you don’t and you don't pay attention to the things happening around you something like Ray’s story could happen without you even noticing or doing anything to stop it.
January 5, 2024
The end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 have provided me with two new favorite books—both of a similar nature but each presenting a very different life. The Choice: Embrace the Possible, which I finished at the end of 2023, is a story about a survivor of the Holocaust who goes on to help others deal with their own tragedies as a credentialed psychologist, just as she, too, continues to try to make sense of the tragedy that she lived through. The Sun Does Shine is about a black man from Alabama wrongfully convicted of a crime that he could not have committed. From the start, the racialist world that he lives in is against him. For the next thirty years, that world continues to stand in his way; to block his freedom and the light of the sun. For years, he is stuck in a 5 x 7 cell of darkness. But the light will shine and he will use his story to bring LIGHT to others.
I would like to say that I have not read a more touching book in my life, but it seems that I have been blessed to read two in the matter of the past few weeks. Both books rank in my top five because they share about true tragedies that end with hope. It is my hope that whoever reads this review will read both of them.
I would like to say that I have not read a more touching book in my life, but it seems that I have been blessed to read two in the matter of the past few weeks. Both books rank in my top five because they share about true tragedies that end with hope. It is my hope that whoever reads this review will read both of them.
September 30, 2024
I thought that since I've already read both versions of Just Mercy and seen a documentary about the Equal Justice Initiative, this may be too much more of the same, but I'm so glad I did read it. There was much more to it than just corroboration for the argument that too many innocent people are being executed and that our justice system is rife with corruption and racism. Readers will experience what it was like to grow up black in Alabama in the 60's, and what it's like to live in a racist state, even today. You see maddening injustice, the heartbreak that is life on death row, heartfelt human connections and friendships, the importance of imagination and determination, and the value of reading and talking to people not like you. Anthony Ray Hinton is an incredibly resilient and inspiring human whose story needs to be heard, and anyone hearing/reading it will be all the better for it.
Librarians: Appropriate for middle school and high school libraries, I'd recommend this title to any student who wants to learn about the justice system, racism, capital punishment, or who enjoys true stories.
Librarians: Appropriate for middle school and high school libraries, I'd recommend this title to any student who wants to learn about the justice system, racism, capital punishment, or who enjoys true stories.
October 11, 2022
This is Ray's story, the good, the bad and the ugly told at a generally appropriate level for middle school. And yet, it pulls no punches. Ray is on death row, which means he interacts with racists, murderers, awful prison guards, bad lawyers and more. And he also hears and smells men dying on the electric chair. Nothing here is gruesome, it's just awful because it is. Ray handles it as well as he ever could, and he has an amazing mother and best friend devoted to him.
Of course, it has a happy ending but it's a long time coming. We spend that time struggling right alongside with him. There is a bit of hopelessness but Ray is an incredible person and he eventually gets help from Bryan Stevenson, an incredible person with an incredible mission. I love that there is a version of Just Mercy that can be read alongside this for his look at these kinds of cases.
Of course, it has a happy ending but it's a long time coming. We spend that time struggling right alongside with him. There is a bit of hopelessness but Ray is an incredible person and he eventually gets help from Bryan Stevenson, an incredible person with an incredible mission. I love that there is a version of Just Mercy that can be read alongside this for his look at these kinds of cases.
August 25, 2025
I dont often add a review but this is one of the most memorable books I've ever read. This is a hard solid five star read. My heart broke into a million little pieces repeatedly and I sobbed all. the. way. through.
Even at the darkest points of Anthony Ray Hinton's journey he was able to find the light, able to BE a light for others. Such an important insight into the prejudice/ racism and carelessness that plagues the judicial system (not only in Alabama/ USA but also the rest of the world). If you want to read a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of unconditional, unwavering friendship, love and forgiveness, be reminded of the frivolity of our daily worries, experience immense gratitude for the small daily pleasures that so many have had taken away from them, and be deeply deeply moved, then this book is for you.
Even at the darkest points of Anthony Ray Hinton's journey he was able to find the light, able to BE a light for others. Such an important insight into the prejudice/ racism and carelessness that plagues the judicial system (not only in Alabama/ USA but also the rest of the world). If you want to read a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of unconditional, unwavering friendship, love and forgiveness, be reminded of the frivolity of our daily worries, experience immense gratitude for the small daily pleasures that so many have had taken away from them, and be deeply deeply moved, then this book is for you.
May 30, 2022
A heart-wrenching story of an upright man who is accused, tried, and found guilty for a crime he didn't commit. Readers connect with Mr Hinton early on peeking into snippets of his life. His faith, family, and friends serve as his rock that guide him through these tribulations and sees him through to eventual justice. Where some might be bitter and angry, Mr Hinton turns this into a teaching opportunity that forgiveness and not forgetting is the way to improve our justice system. Whereas the original is written in the first person, this edition is written in the third person with choice quotes from the original. A powerful read that gives powerful insights into the Civil Rights movement and the stubborn stain of racial bias that continues to mar our great nation.
April 28, 2024
I read the YA version because it was available in time for book club. I read the original three years ago and really can’t tell the difference in terms of how moving the story is. Perhaps some of the legalese was omitted or simplified? Whatever the experts deemed necessary to make it appropriate for middle readers, the effect of knowing this story is life changing. Ray’s love—for his mama, his best friend Lester, and then the fellow humans he saw through God’s eyes on death row—AND his forgiveness—of the racist, immoral, unethical, and irresponsible people who sent him to death row—are an example to us all. I hope there’s more to his story and that he has found someone to love him with as big a love as he has.
April 3, 2025
I read the adult version of this book several years ago and it changed my life. I was excited to see a young readers edition that we could listen to as a family on a road trip with our 12- and 14 -year-old kids. This one is almost as good. The only thing I didn't love about this book is some out of context stats provided in one chapter. It offered a good talking point for my family though. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book and appreciate that there is a middle grade version of the original for our youth, who hold the power to change the world. The description of this young readers version says it's for kids ages 10-14. I would recommend this for kids 12+ and maybe preview if you have sensitive readers.
July 27, 2025
This was a very emotional book to read. This should make people think twice before making a judgement on anyone or anything until they know what the real facts are. Not the facts that someone says are the facts or the opinions. I’m amazed at things I have thought I knew were the facts, to later realize that not all the facts of the matter were known or publisized.
This book was a very emotional book for me to read. You know there is prejudice in the world, and this story just shows some of those prejudices. Money, skin color, religions, lack of money, lack of education, sexuality, physical appearances,the list just goes on and on. My heart aches for those who judge without really knowing.
This book was a very emotional book for me to read. You know there is prejudice in the world, and this story just shows some of those prejudices. Money, skin color, religions, lack of money, lack of education, sexuality, physical appearances,the list just goes on and on. My heart aches for those who judge without really knowing.
October 19, 2024
Listened to this as I was going to attend an event featuring ARH again and just loved it. I was privileged to get to talk to him over lunch and got to ask him lots of questions (no he has not met Halley Berry or Sandra Bullock) His friendship with Lester Bailey was an aspect of the book which I found very touching - he assured me they are still BFfs - heartwarming ❤️🩹He continues to advocate for justice through EJI and talk about forgiveness. I felt in the presence of someone very sacred.
December 27, 2021
Recently, my middle school literacy teachers worked to update their lit curriculum to incorporate windows and doors (Bishop) to others lives. They decided to pair To Kill a Mockingbird with the YA version of Just Mercy and I look forward to suggesting this one too, to help students understand the lasting effects of injustice and what freedom truly means.
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