This Journal Belongs To Ratchet

This Journal Belongs To Ratchet

Juvenile fiction
Ratchet, narrator of Nancy J. Cavanaugh's This Journal Belongs
To Ratchet, is a girl. Rachel is on her birth certificate. Her car
mechanic dad uses her nickname because she's the entity he relies on
to help him with so much of his work.
As the book begins it's the eve of the first day of school...for
all the neighborhood kids except Rachet. Her dad home schools her.
Actually he's too busy fixing vehicles at their home and fighting city
hall to save a local park from being converted into a strip mall to
really notice her work. So she is going to chronicle through her
langauge arts journal her campaign to radically change her life.
Everything in Rachet's life is second hand right down to her
clothes that help her stand out from her peers in a not so good way.
She'd like a friend. But the only peer attention she gets is being
picked on. Her father is notorious for his eccentric attire and
passionate environmentalism. Her mom died when she was young. Maybe
if she knew more about her she could become a more normal girl with
actual friends...
Ratchet's thoughts done in a wide array of formats are down to
earth and thought provoking. This Journal Belongs To Ratchet is a
perfect read for the many kids who feel left out and less than and the
peers who are strong enough to reach out to them rather than be silent
bystanders when they are ridiculed and excluded.
On a personal note, after a long winter Maine is finally rocking the
warm weather. Last week we signed up senior citizens to receive free
organic veggies from Orono Community Gsrden.
A great big shout goes out to my fellow gardeners and our senior
citizen chums.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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