This Way to Happy, Alison Green Myers
This Way to Happy, Alison Green Myers
List: $18.00 | Sale: $12.60
Club: $9.00

This Way to Happy

Author: Alison Green Myers

Narrator: Sagan Chen, Alison Green Myers

Unabridged: 5 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/23/2025


Synopsis

From Schneider Family Book Award winner Alison Green Myers comes a heartwarming middle grade novel about loss, friendship, and the many paths we create to happiness.

Growing up at her grandparents' amusement park, Reilly Rhoades spent her life in the glow of bright lights, hard work, and sweet treats. That is until her beloved grandfather died. With Grandpa gone now, the sweetness of the park disappears, and the pride Reilly had for her family’s legacy grows bitter.

Without Grandpa, Reilly’s family fights to keep the park going—spreading happiness to others as they struggle to find it themselves. The strain causes one problem after another to erupt, until the Rhoades family, and their amusement park, comes apart at the seams.

As past traditions clash with today's realities, a new friendship splashes into Reilly’s universe. With epic advice, wild adventures, and a plan (or twenty) for tackling life’s twists and turns, Reilly Rhoades discovers that happiness doesn’t mean you have to choose between the past and the future—sometimes building a bridge connects all the best parts of you!

This Way to Happy is a rollercoaster ride that reminds readers even in the midst of life’s most challenging turns, happiness can be found just around the corner.

About The Author

Alison Green Myers is a passionate educator, novelist, and speaker. As the program director at the Highlights Foundation, Alison supports storytellers with fellowships and care throughout their careers. Alison is the author of the Schneider Family Award-winning A Bird Will Soar and the forthcoming This Way to Happy. A National Writing Fellow and teaching artist with Bethel Woods' educational programs, Alison is always happy to spend time in the company of curious kids! Alison lives in the woods of Pennsylvania with two extraordinary humans and two dear dogs.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Caitlin on October 07, 2025

I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this book! We all struggle to find happiness in its various forms, and This Way to Happy delivers thoughtfully and artfully. Written for a middle grade audience, I found it appropriate for almost all ages. Exploring the life of Reilly Rhoades, a young girl......more

Goodreads review by Mark on September 11, 2025

What worked: The entire Rhoades family is still feeling grief following the grandfather’s death. The death was sudden and unexpected, and Reilly has constant, painful reminders as she moves about the fairgrounds. The grandparents have run the campground and fair for fifty years, and the family has be......more

Goodreads review by Mary on September 15, 2025

It is opening day at the Rhoades Family Amusement Park, and everything is in place exactly as it should be. This is the first season without Grandpa, though, and twelve-year-old Reilly is feeling Grandpa’s absence particularly intensely. When Reilly’s grandma collapses unexpectedly, the fire simmeri......more

Goodreads review by Vicky on April 25, 2025

Reilly’s family has owned an amusement park for over 50 years and with Grandpa gone now, her aunt thinks why own the park anymore. When it reopens for the season, Reilly thinks it doesn’t feel right without Grandpa, but Grandma makes it feel right. When Reilly and Nic find Grandma on the floor, the......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on October 22, 2025

A​lison Green Myers demonstrates masterful character development while introducing complex themes with a subtlety that makes them accessible. I’m so impressed by how artfully this story is crafted​ and finished the book in a single afternoon. A few highlights that stood out and stayed with me includ......more


Quotes

“In a compulsively readable narrative fueled by characters fraught with tension, Reilly is a balm of introspection. Overall, Schneider Award winner Myers presents a refreshing story of accepting change as a positive way forward.”—Booklist

"Myers’ sophomore effort effectively navigates complicated family dynamics, from the grandparents’ marriage and Grandma’s lifelong commitment to supporting her husband’s dreams, to the sisters’ volatile relationship, to Alex’s challenges with his mom and stepfather. The purposeful presentation of the histories of the individual characters allows readers to understand them without judgment, and their messy dynamics feel deeply human."—BCCB

"Via the complexly rendered characters—including three generations of strong and personable women—Myers tackles themes of addiction and recovery, divorce, and loss, and suggests that being open to happiness might be the best way to find it."—PW

“Beautifully written and thoughtfully crafted, this story is a poignant reminder of the healing power of memories and the courage it takes to find happiness in unexpected places. A true gift for anyone who has loved and lost.”—Ernesto Cisneros, Pura Belpré Award–winning author of Efrén Divided and Falling Short

"In This Way to Happy, Alison Green Myers builds themes of family, friendship, grief, and recovery into a compelling story, in a one-of-a-kind setting. A wise and honest exploration of the bonds and bridges that carry us through life’s ups and downs. A beautiful read from start to finish."—Meera Trehan, author of SNOW and The View from the Very Best House in Town