Most Popular Books by Darlene Ryan

When her mother died two years earlier, Izzy thought the world would change in some identifiable way, but it didn't. It didn't even slow down. Along with constantly watching her brother, Jason, to ensure he didn't repeat his involvement with drugs, Izzy has managed to get through school and the rest of her life using her mother's endless "rules" as guidance, even making up some of her own as she goes along. When her father starts dating again and then decides to get married, Izzy is unprepared. She is convinced she will hate this intruder in her ordered life and is certain that their family is complete as it is. When her father's new girlfriend becomes pregnant, and her health is threatened, Izzy finds that there might just be room in her family for Anne. And while trying to save her brother and stay true to the "rules," Izzy realizes that family involves more than blood and that rules aren't always absolute. A touching, often funny, story of love and acceptance, Rules for Life is a reminder that while we can't choose the family we are born with, we can choose the people we take along for the ride.

Maddie is living on the streets, trying to protect herself and make enough money to get a place to stay and find a way to go back to school. When she meets Q, she is wary but welcomes his friendship. And then she meets Dylan, a six-year-old boy, living on the streets with his family. When Dylan's father asks Maddie to watch the boy for a while, she is happy to help. But Dylan's parents don't come back; and Maddie and Q are left looking after him. Trying to make a life together and care for her makeshift family, Maddie finds that maybe she has to ask for help.

D'Arcy's dad is dead. She desperately wants it to have been an accident, but she is not sure. And when she learns the truth, things become even more difficult. Why would her father choose suicide? Why didn't she see the signs? Her father had always helped her get through everything in her life—five minutes at a time. Can she do it alone? And then she meets Seth. When will things get back to normal? Learning to live without her father while her mother struggles with her own pain, D'Arcy finds an inner strength she wasn't aware of. She also finds that almost anything is tolerable for five minutes more.

Daniel has been crazy about Mac from the moment she transferred to his school. She's smart, funny, loyal and fiercely independent. The only problem is, when life gets too hard for Mac, she runs away. But she always comes back. Except now Mac's grandmother is dead, their house is about to be torn down and she's been humiliated in front of the entire school. When Daniel finds out Mac has been saying goodbye to her friends, he realizes she's planning on leaving for good. Getting more and more desperate as he searches the city, Daniel finds an unexpected and unlikely ally. But can he find Mac before he loses her forever?

Evie was pregnant and forced to give up the baby. But Evie can't just leave the child with strangers, especially when she thinks the baby is being neglected. With her boyfriend waiting in the truck, Evie snatches the baby and convinces him to drive her to Montreal where she plans to start a new life with her child. But when the baby won't eat and she and Justin argue, she ends up alone in a small town. As the baby becomes sicker, Evie must decide whether to admit her mistake and turn herself in, or to keep running. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! Also available in Spanish as De nadie más.

Kevin Frasier is in a new high school—his fourth in the last year. Kevin is trying to get along and not cause any waves. When he falls in with Nick and his friends, Frasier ends up going along as the group bullies and threatens their way through the school. When Nick starts tormenting Erin—and she stands up to him—the harassment escalates until Kevin is forced to make a difficult decision and risk everything. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

For much of her adult life, Darlene believed she wouldn't make a good mother. But at the age of forty, Darlene realizes she wants to have a child and decides to adopt. This book details the emotional ups and downs involved in the process.

Evie tuvo una bebita y fue obligada a darla en adopción, pero no puede simplemente dejarla con extraños, sobre todo porque tiene la impresión de que no la cuidan bien. Mientras su novio espera en su camioneta, Evie secuestra a la niña y lo convence de llevarlas a Montreal, donde planea empezar una nueva vida con la pequeña. Pero la niña no quiere comer y, después de una pelea entre Evie y Justin, él las deja solas en un pueblo perdido. Cuando la niña empeora, Evie tiene que decidir si admitir su error y entregarse, o seguir huyendo. Disponible en inglés: Saving Grace.

Grade level: k, n.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Evie is determined to care for her baby, even if it means kidnapping her.