Have you ever had one of those devastatingly rainy days? Your plans are ruined and you just feel kind of defeated? What do you do when that happens? In Ways to Make Sunshine, author Renée Watson shows that with spirit, kindness, and determination, you can make sunshine on any rainy day. If you’ve read the Ramona Quimby books, you’ll likely be thinking of them when you read Ways to Make Sunshine. Both girls have strong spirits, great personalities, and unique opinions. But you can definitely feel the different times the books take place in as you read. In Ramona’s story, children are expected to be in their place, and the characters are also more old fashioned in the ways they talk and act. Ryan’s story is much more like life today. But both stories are great books with even better characters. In Ways to Make Sunshine, Ryan goes through experiences that are very relatable for most of us. One time, Ryan’s not sure how to react to a not-so-nice girl. I’ve been in similar situations and understand it’s tough to know what to do. But even if you don’t always make the right choices, you can learn from your mistakes and do better next time, like Ryan. That’s what good leaders do: they learn from their mistakes and never give up on their dreams. The name Ryan means “king,” and she is always trying to be a leader. From moving to a new home to school talent shows, she shows everyone what it really means to set an example of kindness and determination. Her parents are always telling her to “be who we named you to be,” and Ryan works towards living up to that again and again. Sometimes, as a girl and a person of color, I feel a little looked down upon. Although Watson doesn’t specifically mention it in the book, I wonder if Ryan has had to deal with this as well. I also wonder if that’s why her parents gave her such a strong name. She doesn’t give up, she doesn’t settle, and she believes in herself. That’s one thing I admire about Ryan: she stays strong and kind and herself. She inspires me to always do that too. Ryan’s story is also full of fun and laughter. I love her spirit and personality. Ryan’s experiences always make me smile and a lot of them make me laugh. Her sense of humor is just the right amount of hilarious, and her personality is one of my favorite aspects of the story. If you like books that entertain and inspire you at the same time, you should definitely check out Ways to Make Sunshine. Ryan will show you her determination to be kind and make the best out of situations. She will make you experience the full range of emotions as she leads you through her story. You’ll find yourself thinking hard and laughing too. Ryan has her own special way of doing things, a way that makes sunshine. Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson. Bloomsbury, 2020. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Book Reviews
Kiki Strike: Inside The Shadow City, Reviewed by Sita, 11
The YA novel Kiki Strike: Inside The Shadow City, is unlike any book I’ve ever read. The main character, twelve year-old Ananka Fishbein, lives a relatively boring life until she finds an enormous subterranean city underneath New York, and meets Kiki Strike, a young girl who notices everything about everyone and seems to be able to appear and disappear at will. Together, they assemble a crew called the Irregulars, composed of delinquent Girl Scouts with unusual talents, to explore the labyrinthine city. The book is filled with hilarious quips, heartfelt gestures of solidarity, and an empowering message for girls and geeks everywhere. This novel manages to entertain and educate at the exact same time. While reading about the Irregulars and the Shadow City, you get glimpses into the history of New York, and at the end of every chapter there is information on everything from historical underground cities to caring for an injured colleague, although the beginning of the book includes a disclaimer concerning the medical advice. Through reading the Kiki Strike trilogy, I learned so much about New York City and countless other tidbits of information like how to tell when someone’s lying, how to make the right impression, and how to “be a master of disguise.” In addition to being a great read, Kiki Strike: Inside The Shadow City provides role models for girls, role models who give girls the confidence to be independent and ambitious. It emphasizes the fact that being nerdy doesn’t make you boring or somehow inferior to anyone else; in fact, it’s an invaluable asset. In the book, the Irregulars are all tween girls around the age of twelve, with incredible skills in fields historically thought of as fields that were for men only, such as chemistry and engineering. The girls regularly prove themselves to be just as capable as anyone else, despite their age and gender. In the beginning of the book, when Kiki Strike first assembles the Irregulars, she tries to convince them that they can explore the Shadow City by themselves, and tells them this: “Each of you has an unusual gift…that has gone unnoticed by your parents, your teachers, and even the Girl Scouts… you could choose to do something truly spectacular.” When Ananka hears this, she internalizes the messages and goes from the unsure wallflower she was from the first few chapters to an assertive, highly capable girl at the end. If you’re a fan of history, mystery, nerd-power, or girl-power, you need to read Kiki Strike: Inside The Shadow City, and you won’t be able to put it down. Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller. Bloomsbury, 2008. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Roller Girl, Reviewed by Akhil, 11
A year ago I signed up for something called Oregon Battle of the Books. I was discussing with my team which book I should read, and they suggested Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. At first I did not want to read it because I saw how thick the book was, and I thought it was a chapter book, so I did not want to read it, but I took the book home anyways, and I looked at the cover. It looked like it was some tips for girls who roller skate. I wanted to see what the pages looked like, and I was surprised. It was a comic book. I immediately sat on the couch and read the book. The book is about a girl named Astrid. She and her best friend, Nicole, do everything together, but when Astrid signs up for roller skating she thinks Nicole will sign up for it too, but instead Nicole signs up for dance classes. And from there on, there is so much change and struggle for Astrid, because she keeps falling while trying to do roller skating, she got made fun of a lot at camp, and her coach keeps saying negative things about her. Astrid’s dream is that she wants to be like Rainbow Bite, the best roller skater in the roller derby, but Astrid is still the worst on her team. Later on she keeps moving up the ranks from 12 to 9 to 4 because she keeps on practicing and practicing, and competes in the roller derby because she got so much practice. The theme of the book is friendship. Friendship is important, and if you don’t have friendship then you won’t have any fun in your life. I once had a friend that was really shy and barely ever talked to anyone except for the teachers. I saw that he would just sit in the corner every day during recess, so I asked him to come over to us and play, and now he is really popular in school, and he is happy because he had friends with him. I think that the author would want us to see in friendship that you will keep making friends on the way if you keep on trying hard. Another theme that I would say that fits this book is hard working because she had to keep trying to achieve her goal. An example is that she kept going to derby camp and kept failing and was the lowest in her camp, so she practiced hard by roller skating every day, and finally she got the hang of it because she did a lot of hard work. My favorite part in the story is where Astrid goes to derby camp. It is my favorite part in the book because that is where all of the trouble starts. For example she starts falling down a lot on her first try, and she was being made fun of because of that she keeps on struggling, but later on gets better. Read this book called Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. Dial Books, 2015. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
