about the book
This was Abigail’s plan: make the pom-pom squad, get a cool photo in the yearbook, and, together with Alli and Cami become the ultra most popular girls in Crestdale Heights Middle School!
This is what actually happens: Alli and Cami make the squad; Abigail does not. Alli and Cami are put in a different homeroom than Abigail. And Abigail is paired with Gabby, the most-unpopular girl in school, for her Friendly Letter partner. Could things go any more wrong?
As the year goes on, Gabby and Abigail write their letters to one another. Turns out Gabby is really nice, which is a surprise to Abigail—but she is also SO WEIRD! How soon until the kids making fun of Gabby turn their sights on Abigail?
When they do, will Abigail stand up for herself and for Gabby?
about the author
J. Cavanaugh describes herself as being slow and steady. You might be surprised to learn that she is a very slo-o-o-o-o-o-w reader. She also writes all her books in pencil and that is a slow process!
Nancy grew up in Chicago and earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She went on to earn a master’s in curriculum and instruction from the University of Illinois, and currently lives in Tarpon, Florida, with her husband Ron and their daughter Chaylee.
She’s worn all sorts of career hats: housecleaner, babysitter, candy stripper, fitness instructor, camp counselor and invention director, mechanics instructor, curriculum writer, elementary and middle school teacher (for 17 years) , and English teacher in China! She is currently working as a library media specialist in an elementary school.
This Journal Belongs to Ratchet is her first book, but she has been writing for almost twenty years. She says one of the best parts of being an author is being able to say “I’m working” when she is actually just lounging around reading middle grade novels! She even admits that she gets some of her best ideas for writing projects from watching TV. Like her character Rachet, Nancy is pretty handy with mechanics’ tools and is able to take apart and put back together a small engine!
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Jean Book Nerd
Also by Nancy J. Cavanaugh:
This Journal Belongs to Ratchet. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. 2013.
read more!
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Ana literally lives in a zoo, so goodbye to any chance at middle school popularity. Her best friend has also moved across the world, making things even more difficult on her. Then her grandfather shows up wanting to make a documentary about their family, who—remember?—lives in a zoo. This has all the makings of Ana’s worst school year ever.
This Journal Belongs to Ratchet by Nancy J. Cavanaugh
Ratchet would be in middle school, if she were not being home-schooled by her mechanic-environmentalist father. She knows more about spark plugs than makeup and sleepovers. She desperately wants to find a friend and to fit in somewhere. Anywhere. Her only refuge is her journal, which she fills with her longings, poems, and drawings. An unlikely friendship with a boy changes everything.