Ryan Hart novels

Ryan, a cheerful fourth-grader from Portland, Oregon, tries to look on the bright side of every difficulty life throws at her, including having a name that's typically a boy's name. When her father loses his job, they have to move to a smaller house and sell their second car. Ryan is sometimes sad, especially when she botches a well-practiced speech, but with her family and friends supporting her, she finds ways to make sunshine in her life.

Ryan is caught between two friends who both want to be her best friend, her brother ruins her latest baking project, and a classmate keeps teasing her at school, yet Ryan still looks for a way to see the bright side of things and not let anything steal her joy.