THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET

Eleven-year-old Ratchet determines to make a friend, save a park, and find her own definition of normal. She tells her story through the assignments in her homeschool language arts journal.

Living in a world of spark plugs, pistons, and crankshafts, Ratchet spends her days fixing cars with her dad in the garage – not exactly normal for a girl. Even with the odds stacked against her, Ratchet endeavors to change her life and realizes her skill as a mechanic might just be the path to her first friend. But in the process, she alienates her father and discovers a secret she wishes she never knew. She finds a way to, not only accept the truth she discovers, but also accept herself and her dad in a whole new way.

This is Ratchet's journal and in its pages are Ratchet's writings, her poems, and her drawings. Together, they tell a story about trying to make friends, about fighting to save a park, about the memories of her mother, and about her unlikely friendship with a boy. This journal is her sanctuary. And it's always there for Ratchet when no one else will listen.

Nancy J. Cavanaugh was a teacher for more than fifteen years and currently works as a Library Media Specialist at an elementary school. She lives in Tarpon Springs, Florida with her husband and daughter.