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Ways to Make Sunshine

Book Synopsis

Ryan Hart and her family live in Portland, Oregon, and her dad lost his job a while ago. He finally got a new one, but it pays less, and he’ll have to work nights. And so they’re selling the second car and moving to an (old) new house. The Harts are an everyfamily – a family with siblings who bicker, parents who don’t always get it right, but a family that loves. A family working hard to make it in tough economic times, a family with traditions and culture, a family that tries new things. This is a black family growing up in middle class America.

And Ryan is a girl who has much on her mind – school, family, friends, self-image – but who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. Packed with humour and heart alongside meaningful and thoughtful moments, Ryan Hart is the character everyone will want to be best friends with.

Our Review Panel says...

Ways to Make Sunshine is the uplifting story of a young girl and her loving family, dealing with the ups and downs of life in our modern world. Ryan Hart lives with her parents and brother in Oregon, USA. Her life is going through some changes: her dad lost his job and now has to work nights; the family have to move to a much smaller house and they have to sell their second car. As well as this, Ryan has to navigate the usual concerns of a young girl – an annoying brother, public speaking at the Easter church service, sleepovers, unruly hair and talent shows…

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