This Journal Belongs To Ratchet (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Loved this story! Beautifully told in various forms of writing...poetry, narrative essay, journal entry, interview. A well-rounded, strong, realistic tale. Ratchet is struggling with who she is supposed to be, finding her way and her own voice, wanting much and not sure if she will get any of it. What I loved the most is how honest and genuine her dad is portrayed and how Ratchet learns to love him for who he is. The young character Ratchet turns out to be a daughter and a young woman to be admired! Picked this book up, in an RV park laundromat, on the book exchange shelf. Perhaps it was left there by a young person, who was also being home-schooled, as is the main character of the book. The book looked brand new, as if it had never been opened. I took the book, thinking that it might be of interest to my 9-year-old niece; of course, I was intrigued by the cover, and its promise of a journal-like story; so, I decided to read it myself. As the first few chapters / journal entries were read, I decided that this story was too sad, too hard, too much, for my niece to digest and integrate into her world. The father of the main character was not a loving dad, or even a likable character, I told myself. In fact, a man who "home-schools" his daughter, while using her as a mechanic assistant - well, that seems to me, to be a story of child abuse. But I found the main character, Rachel (a/k/a "Rachet") to be a stong-willed, smart, humorous, and very likable; I could not leave her - I felt compelled to read her journal entries, written in so many varied literary stylistic assignments. As the story progressed, Rachel learned about her past, dealt with her present challenges, and overcame obstacles. In the end she triumphs in many aspects of her life, and even her dad shows signs of being if not likable, then perhaps somewhat tolerable, in a likable sort of way. So, I would recommend this book, especially in a young readers discussion group setting. AND - I will be passing this book on to my niece, for her to read!
What do You think about This Journal Belongs To Ratchet (2013)?
This book is really good and I wish there was a full series!!!!!!!!!!!!
—gigglyspider
was very close to being trash but there were some funny parts.
—thwhodini
