Ways to Make Sunshine

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2020

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-11

Chapters 12-15

Chapters 16-19

Chapters 20-23

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

“Ways to Make Sunshine”: Creating Positive Outcomes From Challenges

As the title of the text suggests, “making sunshine,” or creating positive outcomes from challenges, is an important theme in narrative. This is something Ryan learns as she overcomes obstacles by looking for positives rather than dwelling on negatives. With her family’s help and by reframing her thinking, Ryan shapes an outlook on the world that does not view obstacles as insurmountable and learns to look for the opportunities in challenges.

Creating positive outcomes from challenges is not easy for Ryan at first. When she learns that her family will be leaving their home and moving to a smaller house, she reacts: “I am trying really hard not to cry but I can’t help it. I must look so pitiful sitting here in front of melting vanilla ice cream with tears streaming down my face” (14). Ryan even refuses to eat her favorite dessert as a result. Even though her mother assures her: “we’ll all still be together. This is just a house. We are the ones who make it home. Home is wherever we go” (16), Ryan is still unable to fully embrace the possibilities that this new move presents.

Ryan’s attitude and outlook start to change once they move. Though at first, she looks for ways to dislike the house, citing various shortcomings: “This new house is not new at all. The kitchen is too small for us to eat as a family” (26), she soon discovers quirks of the house that endear her to her new home. Ryan is distraught at first when seeing the new kitchen and finding that the counters are too high for her to reach, therefore preventing her from helping her mother with her favorite activity, cooking. When she finds a small step stool in the kitchen closet, she innovates and discovers “It’s perfect. I will be able to cook with Mom and reach everything just fine” (29). Though it took some problem solving and creative thinking on her part, Ryan finds that the house is not altogether bad, and that some things will stay the same.

Ryan’s ability to make sunshine out of challenges develops throughout the text and the final chapters illustrate the extent of Ryan’s growth. Ryan’s parents reveal that they will be welcoming a new baby girl to the family by bringing home a cake that has “2 + 1 = 3” (168) written in icing. Ryan reacts just as she did when she learned that her family was moving: “The only thing worse than having ice cream when learning that you are moving is having it when you learn that you are going to be a big sister” (168). She remembers how she felt in that moment, thinking about how much her life is about to change. She frets: “So far this little sister that everyone is so happy about has ruined my favorite dessert and will take over my bedroom. There is definitely nothing to celebrate here” (171). Ryan almost lets her emotions take over and she nearly ruins the moment (and her favorite dessert) for herself again, until her mother, sensing her anxiety, intervenes and reminds Ryan: “Sweetheart, things will change but you know what will never ever change? [...] Our love for you” (172). Just as she did when Ryan was upset about moving homes, her mother tells her that their love for her will remain unchanged no matter what.

This reminder from her mother enables Ryan to reframe her thinking. Ryan thinks about how her future little sister might react if she ever found out how upset Ryan was at the news. She realizes: “I don’t want her to know I refused to eat the cake and ice cream, that I complained about all the things that wouldn’t be the same. I think to myself how awful that would feel to know her big sister was so upset” (172). Showing real empathy and growth, Ryan decides that even though she still feels somewhat apprehensive, she does not want her little sister to ever feel unwanted or unloved. Thinking about the math equation again, Ryan thinks of more math equations in her head: “2+1=3. 1 brother + 2 sisters = more girls. 1 dad + 1 brother + 1 mom + 2 sisters = more girls. I am starting to think that the equation written in icing was good news after all “(174). With more girls in the family, Ryan realizes that the girls will outnumber the boys, tipping the scales in favor of the girls during family votes. For a final time, Ryan realizes the opportunities present in challenges, the sunshine that can be found on a rainy day, if only she looks for it.

Living Up to One’s Name and Being a Leader

From the first chapter of the text, Ryan emphasizes the importance she places on the meaning of her name. Ryan’s close relationship with her parents encourages her to want to live up to her name: “[they] named me Ryan because [they] wanted me to feel powerful, to remember that I am a leader every time someone calls my name” (4). Throughout the text, Ryan finds ways to do just this: to live up to her name by acting as a leader for those around her.

Ryan’s goal of living up to her name is not achieved without setbacks. Ryan struggles with public speaking, so much so that when she gets nervous at the beginning of her Easter speech, she runs out of the church and is unable to give the speech at all. Disappointed in herself, Ryan equates her stage fright with being a poor leader and not living up to her name: “I’m not a leader. I’m a girl who gets so scared standing in front of people that I freeze and forget my words. That’s not a good leader at all” (68). Her mother gives her some important advice to help encourage Ryan to continue to strive to be her best self, even in the face of setbacks: “Yes, it is. As long as you tried. That’s all I can ask of you is that you try” (68). Though Ryan stays upset in the moment, her mother’s encouragement to always try and put forth effort sticks with her and enables her to become the leader her parents named her to be.

Ryan discovers that there are many ways to be a leader, including setting an example for friends to do the right thing. Ryan embodies this leadership role within her friend group by leading KiKi to treat their classmate Hannah with kindness. Earlier on in the text, Ryan struggles to stand up for what she knows to be right. As Ryan and KiKi listen to Hannah practicing singing for the talent show, KiKi gets Ryan to agree that Hannah “thinks she’s all that” (93). Not wanting to disagree with her friend, Ryan agrees, but she feels uneasy about it: “The words feel strange coming out of me. Like when I taste something that I don’t like, but I eat it anyway” (94). At first, Ryan acts as a follower rather than a leader, neglecting to stand up for what is right even when it does not feel right to her.

Later on, KiKi once again tries to exclude Hannah, but this time Ryan stands up and acts as a leader. When Hannah asks to take a turn to practice on the talent show stage, KiKi dismisses her: “We’re going to be a while” (153). Ryan intervenes and acts as a leader: “I clear my throat and give KiKi a look, I am trying to live up to this name that means ‘leader.’ ‘But you can stay, I say. ‘We can take turns practicing’” (153). Ryan is no longer afraid to stand up for what is right, and to act as an example to her friends. By the end of Hannah’s rehearsal, both Ryan and KiKi are cheering her on “KiKi might be louder than me” (155). KiKi admits to Ryan that Hannah is “actually really good” (155), which shows that with Ryan’s leadership KiKi was able to change her mind and treat Hannah with kindness and respect.

At the end of the text, Ryan overcomes her fear of public speaking and effectively leads the fourth-grade talent show in her role as the Mistress of Ceremonies. Despite her nerves, Ryan remembers her mother’s words after the Easter speech, and tells herself “I take a deep breath. I can do this. I just have to try” (164). This quote illustrates that Ryan understands that successful leadership does require perfection, only the willingness to try. Ryan’s willingness to volunteer to lead the talent show displays true leadership, and in doing so she overcomes her fears and lives up to her name.

Beauty Comes From Within

Ryan learns from her grandmother that beauty comes from within. A big focus in the text for Ryan is her desire to live up to her name, which means “leader.” What she learns is that by being a leader she acts in a way that encourages her to treat people with kindness and in turn display inner beauty. She also learns that only she can determine her own beauty and value, and that societal or other determinations of beauty are less important than the decisions she makes about her appearance.

In advance of the Easter Sunday service, Ryan’s grandma visits to straighten her naturally curly hair. When Ryan says that she is “more beautiful” (59) with straight hair, her grandmother intervenes: “Baby girl, you are beautiful. Not just your hair or your clothes. But who you are. Your kindness makes you beautiful and the way you’re always willing to offer help makes you beautiful” (59). Grandma insists that Ryan’s beauty is not tied to her physical appearance, and especially not whether her hair is straight or natural. She also reminds Ryan that the way she wears her hair is her choice and should be determined solely by Ryan. This statement alludes to societal beauty standards for Black women that historically have devalued Black women’s natural hair in favor of traditionally white beauty standards, which include straight hair. Without explicitly saying so, Grandma empowers Ryan to remember that how she wears her hair–straight or curly–that it is her decision alone.

Ryan remembers this when she decides to get her hair wet, which reverses the hot comb straightening. Her hair goes back to its regular curly state, and another girl in the pool cries: “Your hair looks like it got electrocuted!” (87). This girl is white with straight hair, and as such there is a subtle racial component to her comment. Embarrassed, Ryan runs out of the pool and locks herself in the bathroom. As she reflects on what just happened and realizes that there are benefits to keeping her hair natural: “I like the way my hair looks. And this way, I don’t have to worry about water–the shower, the rain, or the pool. I like the way my hair looks like one massive storm cloud, how if I stretch it, it boings back into place” (89). Like her Grandma’s reminder, Ryan decides that she likes her hair as it is and chooses to keep it natural rather than trying to straighten it and conform to others’ beauty standards. She sees her hair as a beautiful “storm cloud'': dynamic and electric.

Grandma also teaches Ryan that “The only thing that will determine [your beauty] is how you treat others. If you are mean to people, if you act ugly toward them, that’s what takes your beauty away” (60). After giving in to peer pressure and taking part in a breath-holding contest to decide Amanda’s “true best friend,” Ryan finds herself in the bathroom with once-again curly hair. Although she ultimately decides that she likes her hair natural, she does reflect on the actions that led her to this decision: “I [...] try to remember what Grandma said about beauty. I think maybe I acted ugly today–wanting to prove Amanda was my best friend, swapping Red’s cake, and wanting to show off” (88). Throughout the party, Ryan tried to show off and show another partygoer that she was Amanda’s “real” best friend. Although the other girl, Red, goaded her and treated Ryan unkindly, Ryan realizes that she was not acting as her best self either, and as such resolves to act with more integrity and inner beauty moving forward.

Ryan shows that she has learned this lesson by the end of the text. When her parents reveal that Ryan will soon become a big sister, Ryan wants to react with anger and resentment. Thinking of all the ways her life will soon change, Ryan thinks: “There is definitely nothing to celebrate here” (171). As she reflects, she thinks about a time in the future when her little sister “will be told about the day her big sister found out about her being in her momma’s belly” (172). Ryan realizes that her reaction now could negatively affect her sister in the future, and how bad it would feel “to know her big sister was so upset” (172). Ryan therefore decides to act with inner beauty so as to not hurt her baby sister in the future. This action shows Ryan’s maturity and growth through the text, and just how much she has internalized Grandma’s lessons about the meaning of true beauty.