Books with author Kathleen Jo Ryan

Buddy's shoes are missing.Can you help him find them? His playful puppy joins in on the adventure as he retraces his steps from the previous day of play. His quest to tie his shoes becomes a quest to find them as he remembers the day's events. He recalls meeting a man with loafers and a silly girl in a tree. But when he bumps into his friend at the park, he discovers that there are worse things than having untied shoes. Will he find his shoes, or will he learn something even more important?

Nothing is beyond Kristi Carmichael’s disdain—her hippie high school, her friend Jacob, her workaholic mom. Yet for all her attitude and her mind-reading abilities, Kristi has a vulnerable side. She can hear the thoughts of her fellow students, calling her fat and gross. She’s hot for Gusty Peterson, one of the most popular guys in school, but of course, she’s sure he thinks she is disgusting. And she’s still mad at her father, who walked out on them two years ago. Soon, a school project brings her together with Gusty, her father comes home and drops a bombshell, and a friend comes out of the closet, and suddenly she is left doubting that she can read people at all.Bitingly funny but ultimately poignant and positive, this YA novel is completely on the mark.

Zen and Xander are sisters—truly, madly, deeply sisters—and this is their last summer together. They are surviving fine since their mother’s death. Except Zen keeps getting into fights and Xander is spiraling into a vortex of dangerous parties. In the midst of the chaos, Zen and Xander discover a mystery about their mother’s past. Sharing its secrets will be the bond that holds them together.

Natalia's shoes are missing. Can you help her find them? Her playful puppy joins in on the adventure as she retraces her steps from the previous day of play. Her quest to tie her shoes becomes a quest to find them as she remembers the day's events. She recalls meeting a man with loafers and a naughty boy in a tree. But when she bumps into her friend at the park, she discovers that there are worse things than having untied shoes. Will she find her shoes, or will she learn something even more important?

Nothing is beyond Kristi Carmichael’s disdain—her hippie high school, her friend Jacob, her workaholic mom. Yet for all her attitude and her mind-reading abilities, Kristi has a vulnerable side. She can hear the thoughts of her fellow students, calling her fat and gross. She’s hot for Gusty Peterson, one of the most popular guys in school, but of course, she’s sure he thinks she is disgusting. And she’s still mad at her father, who walked out on them two years ago. Soon, a school project brings her together with Gusty, her father comes home and drops a bombshell, and a friend comes out of the closet, and suddenly she is left doubting that she can read people at all.Bitingly funny but ultimately poignant and positive, this YA novel is completely on the mark.

Zen and Xander are sisters—truly, madly, deeply sisters, and this is their last summer together. Zen is the "good" girl with a black belt in karate and a newfound penchant for kicking heads. Xander is a wild scientific genius with a self-destructive streak a light-year long. They have three things in common: they’re brown-eyed blondes, they’ve noticed the boy next door has turned into a hottie, and they miss their mom, who died almost a year ago. These sisters are surviving just fine—except Zen keeps getting into fights that are harder and harder to finish, while Xander spirals into a vortex of late-night parties, scary men, and drugs. What’s worse, Xander has scholarships to the most coveted universities in the country, but she’s about to ruin everything. Should Zen keep trying to protect Xander, or finally let her go?

In her Grandfather’s bright Wyoming valley surrounded by the mighty Tetons, 15-year-old Annie McGraw wanders a forest of shadows. She and her older brother, Cody, always spent the summers here—Cody scaling the cliff walls with Grandpa, Annie tracking Yellowstone moose with her camera. But after the phone call, the valley, like the rest of Annie’s world, feels drained of color.Annie wishes the summer could pass like a night of dreamless sleep—until a grizzly bear finds her on the riverbank. The bear spares her life, but it has a message for her. Suddenly Annie isn’t sure how she feels about anything. Like signs in a dark forest, strangers emerge along her path—a handsome guy with a dangerous smile, a little boy wise beyond his years, the man in the Teepee Tree. Even Grandpa, always so solid and distant, seems to hold secrets behind his icy blue eyes. Struggling under the weight of her grief, Annie begins to follow the signs, and to hear the grizzly’s message.

In her Grandfather’s bright Wyoming valley surrounded by the mighty Tetons, 15-year-old Annie McGraw wanders a forest of shadows. She and her older brother, Cody, always spent the summers here—Cody scaling the cliff walls with Grandpa, Annie tracking Yellowstone moose with her camera. But after the phone call, the valley, like the rest of Annie’s world, feels drained of color.Annie wishes the summer could pass like a night of dreamless sleep—until a grizzly bear finds her on the riverbank. The bear spares her life, but it has a message for her. Suddenly Annie isn’t sure how she feels about anything. Like signs in a dark forest, strangers emerge along her path—a handsome guy with a dangerous smile, a little boy wise beyond his years, the man in the Teepee Tree. Even Grandpa, always so solid and distant, seems to hold secrets behind his icy blue eyes. Struggling under the weight of her grief, Annie begins to follow the signs, and to hear the grizzly’s message.From the Hardcover edition.