Beyond Where Lanterns Rise is a moving coming-of-age novel set against the quiet beauty of the Alberta wilderness. Thirteen-year-old Lyra Aveline Reynolds has lost nearly everything. After the deaths of her father and sister, and now her mother to cancer, she is placed in foster care and sent to a summer retreat at Willows Rise. What was meant to be a temporary escape becomes something far more significant. Surrounded by forests, lantern-lit lakes, and unfamiliar faces, Lyra begins to confront her grief while uncovering unexpected connections to her family’s past. Letters hidden away, stories long buried, and a growing sense that this place is tied to her in ways she cannot explain slowly reshape her understanding of who she is. Living with undiagnosed autism and dyslexia, Lyra has always felt different, standing just outside the world looking in. At Willows Rise, through fragile friendships and moments of quiet courage, she begins to find belonging. The first novel in a sweeping series, Beyond Where Lanterns Rise is a heartfelt story of loss, resilience, faith, and the enduring light that guides us home.