Nancy CavanaughReseñas

Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-7

Plot Summary: Samantha and her mom are traveling to Florida to see her Gram's new digs. Mom gives Samantha one of her new ideas, a Letters to Me Journal, which is what Samantha uses to tell the story. And what a story it is, with lots of surprises and tons of bad luck. Gram's old home was immaculate and Samantha had to worry about being very careful so Samantha was worried about Gram's new home, which to Mom's dismay was not 8.5 minutes from her home but instead in Florida. Her new home is casual but the first big surprise comes when Mimi knocks on the door with Gram out and explains something about a road trip and karaoke. Apparently, it was Gram's dream (with her late husband) to sing karaoke, so now she's going to drive her new convertible mustang around Florida to sing at a few senior karaoke competitions, hoping to qualify for the finals at the fair. Mimi is going along for the ride with plans to deliver a bunch of bibles to a few different churches. Samantha and her mom are traveling with Gram and Mimi, until mom declares she needs to head back home for work meetings. Then another surprise is that Mimi relative Brandy will be joining them as well. What a surprise when it turns out Brandy is not a girl, but a boy named Brandon who is super cute! How will Samantha get through this road trip? With one misadventure after another, will they accomplish any of their goals?

Setting: Florida

Characters:
Samantha - 12 yo, 7th grader
Mom - works at a place called Make It Take It, always happy, optimistic, and cheerful except when she's worried about her mom
Gram - 77 yo, widow
Mildred - AKA Mimi, loves to pray

Recurring Themes: summer vacation, family, journaling, responsibility, Florida, finding a talent, road trip, mishaps

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: When describing this book, it sounds fun. If I listed all the crazy things that made the road trip difficult, like swerving to avoid a turtle and ending up getting the car stuck in the mud, then having to walk all the way to a town but only finding an empty church, etc. if would be quite unbelievable. I like all the ideas of this book, but I did not love the writing. It was slow, probably because of the gimmick of the way it was written as a journal. I also felt uncomfortable every time Mimi talked about prayer but as Samantha learned she prays about everything it felt less uncomfortable to me. In fact, I liked that Samantha started to question how some of the answers to the prayers could actually be answers.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: slow
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I liked this book so much I wrote a blog post about it. I’ve been studying Karl Iglesias’ insightful and practical WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT while reading Nancy J. Cavanaugh‘s funny, charming, and warm THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET for Middle Grade readers.

When I went back over my notes, I realized that THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET uses all six of Karl Iglesias’ ways to reveal character on the page. The strong characterization kept me reading, even though the story has a potentially challenging structure: Ratchet’s handwritten language arts assignments. The story is so well constructed, I stopped noticing the writing assignments.

// Received an advance readers copy in exchange for a fair review //

"Now that I had experience being a hero, as good as it felt, it didn't seem all that important to be one anymore."


WooOOAaaAHHhh!!!!

I am amazed at this book.


First of all, the theme and the moral of this book is my favorite thing here. It's mostly about being yourself and fitting in, in a world that pushes you to do otherwise. It's about finding yourself, finding a place (or a person) to call home, hope and friendship.

The plot may not be for me but I have to commend it because it is very unique, which also makes it very intriguing. It would be a very good read for middle grade readers, and as well as for people who are looking for a young, easy, unique read.


The character depth and the character development are uh-mai-zing. You can see just how Elsie Mae's view and perspective of everything changed from the very first page.

This made reading the last few chapters a bit nostalgic feeling.


I have to keep saying unique because that is what this is. It just really is so very unique.


This book is something that I needed in my life right now and I definitely recommend to every teenager out there in the world who could possibly be reading this.



P.S.
Henry and Huch

Samantha Is a rising seventh grader and the thought of spending summer vacation with her grandmother in Florida isn’t exactly what she considers a fun happening.

Nevertheless, she is pressured into visiting her recently widowed grandmother. Then the poor girl, learns that she will not only be staying with her feisty Grams, but will be riding along with her and her pickle ball friend who is just as feisty. Grams is attempting to fulfil an item on her bucket list by singing karaoke.

And to top it all off, Mimi, the Pickle-ball friend is bringing her hunky eighth grade grandson, Brandon. I might also mention that Grams is driving her new Mustang

The foursome are about to embark on a very quirky tour of places NO ONE ever visits in Florida. Stops include... an alligator-infested road where their car breaks down, an empty church where they spend an uncomfortable night, a ramshackle cabin, the worst public restroom since indoor plumbing had been invented, a filthy not-barbecue joint and that’s just the beginning!

Many of the stops are interrupted by anxious calls from Sam’s stressed-out, workaholic mom, who’s trying to maintain control of a seemingly gone-wild Gram.

This is a happy, fun read filled with wild, lighthearted adventures of a summer trip to remember.

The tale is written in journal entries adding to the fun of this book.

Just Like Me chronicles the story of Julia, a girl who is lost in a sea of labels. This story doesn't shy away from the fact that adolescents deal with a lot of this in their lives, even from adults. If Julia was adopted from China, that makes her Chinese. Or at least it does in the eyes of everyone around her. Nevermind that she doesn't feel like that is her heritage, and wants to find her own place in the world. Nancy J. Cavanaugh takes us on a journey of self-discovery, and it's sweet.

I admit, Julia wasn't my favorite character at first. She's obstinate as an adolescent can be, especially when it comes to anything to do with her cultural background. However, as the story went on, I slowly started to see where Julia was coming from. To live in a world that tells you over and over again that you should identify as Chinese, when you were raised as anything but that, is definitely tough. This book deals a lot with the expectations that others push on us, and how they can sometimes feel stifling.

Truth be told, there's a lot of great lessons in this book. It pulls in characters who are adopted, fostered, and even children whose parents have split. I forsee a lot of young readers really connecting with this story. If it seems a bit juvenile in narrative sometimes, it's only because Nancy J. Cavanaugh really channels the adolescent age. A time of growth, and a time of turmoil,

This is a sweet read, that goes by quickly! I see this as a fabulous mother/daughter read too, since there's so much to talk about.

All Abigail wants is to be on the Pom-Poms with her best friends, but when she is placed in a different homeroom and is an alternate for the poms, she begins to feel left out. Her homeroom teacher assigns each student with a friendly letter writing partner, and Abigail is less than thrilled about her partner. As the school year progresses, Abigail begins to realize there are better things in life than being on the Pom-Poms. This book is great for middle school children. It is relatable and shows students it is more important for them to stand up for others and for themselves than it is to be part of the in-crowd.

Always Abigail is about a teenage girl and her two friends who start off middle school together, but soon to dins out they are put into different classes. She is paired up with a girl, who is not popular, for a project. Her other friends tease the girl and they want Abigail to join. Abigail knows it is not right for her to do that. I like this book because it talks about problems that teenage girls go through in middle school. It talks about peer pressure. I would give this to teenage girls to read if they might be having the same problems Abigail is having.

This is a chapter book that tells the story of a teenage girl named Abigail who gets her world flipped upside down when school starts and she gets put in different classes than her popular group and gets paired for an assignment with the outcast of the school. I think children, especially girls, would enjoy reading this book because it would most likely be relatable to them because they are also in grade school and could possibly be facing similar problems, such as bot being in the same class with their friends or being bullied or doing the bullying or trying their best to fit in. I think this book addresses a lot of real world problems that go on in schools and has a good moral story that children should definitely learn and be exposed to.

It is 1933 and Elsie Mae is hoping that what she has to say will make her a hero and bring her some notoriety. Everything she thinks and does is in that pursuit because she is sure that only then will she finally be noticed by her family.

Elsie is a girl who loves and respects the Okefenokee Swamp, and her grandparents and uncles who call it home. The descriptions of life in The Swamp are pure magic and if you close your eyes you can see and hear the sounds and calls inherent in nature. She wants to save this magical place where she has spent the past six summers from the bulldozers which are threatening the way of life who inhabit the Swamp.

While the book is definitely written for a young audience it should not be overlooked by adults. There are so many important messages and moral attributes that are seamlessly woven into the story. It was a fun, humorous and interesting read.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky for an ARC

Sixth graders, Abigail, Alli, and Cami have a dream to become pom pom girls as they face the new challenges of being separated . Will they reach their dreams and will they even be friends in the end? This book is great for keeping the interest of upper elementary grade girls. Even though it is a higher level book, it is a great way to introduce students to chapter books.

This is a very humorous, sassy book written from the point of view of a ten year old Chinese girl, Julia, who finds herself at a summer camp with her foster sisters and new friends. Through various camp activities, and writing reflections in a journal, she learns how to be happy with herself and come out of her shell.

This book could be a fun book to challenge your students to read over summer vacation, or put in your classroom library for students to read in their spare time. This story might seem more appealing to female students versus male students, but still a fun, engaging read.

Awesome book!

Always Abigail is a cutesy story about a girl. When school starts she and her two best friends are excited about being Pom Girls. But the friends are assigned different classrooms. Abigail wants to be in on things, and even know she knows the right thing to do, has a had time having the back bone to do it. When she is paired up with the least popular girl in her grade for a project and it seems as if they have a lot in common, she ends up with frequent Gabby guilt. She gets a lot of pressure from her other friends and her crush to not be friendly with Gabby and join in in the teasing of her.
It takes Abigail a while to get to the place where she can decide what she wants and the kind of person she wants to be.
Cute format. Lots of list making and letters.
I don't know if this will have wide cross-gender appeal.½

This book is about the typical middle school scene. Three best friends go off to middle school, but their lives soon are not what they expected. Abigail did not make the cheer team, and she is not in the same homeroom as her two best friends. To girls these days, their lives are over. This would be a good book to have middle school read, but probably only the females. I could see the boys not liking it. You could have your students do activities in which they see how they relate to each of the characters as well.

“Always Abigail” is about middle school drama. In all reality, the things that go on in Abigail’s life at this stage are relevant. Finding your place is one of the most important things in middle school, so the kids think. Learning about true friends and what is right and what is wrong, who you are, how you react are just a few of the real-life situations that middle school aged girls can relate to when reading this book. I like how the book uses a lot of dialogue and journal entries accompanied by various lists. This book is a must read for the middle school girl.

Julia was adopted with two other girls from China at the same time from the same orphanage. For an article for the adoption agency coordinator, she goes with them to their summer camp, which is not her first choice. At camp she meets Gina a foster child and along the way she finds out what it means to be adopted but it takes awhile.

Recommended Ages: Gr.

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This is about three young Asian girls who were adopted to the same parents. They were from the same orphanage. Two of the "sisters" get along like sisters and embrace their Chinese heritage. The third sister pretends to hate Chinese food, culture, and sometimes even feel envious of her sisters.

This is a wonderful book by Nancy J. Cavanaugh, who says that this book is about finding your place in the world. I believe that most young adult readers can relate to that. But, Ms. Cavanaugh chose this particular subject to bring the message to the forefront. Is it better to deny who you are to fit in with other people or to accept who you are from, even though you cannot relate to that group? This is an excellent story for any kid trying to find their niche in this world, adopted or not.

Thank you Ms. Cavanaugh, SOURSEBOOKS Jabber Rocky, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book to read and give my honest review.

If only getting a new life were as easy as getting a new notebook. But it's not.
--page 1

Everything in my life is old and recycled.
--page 2

Dad's motto: "If the Good Lord wanted us to throw everything away, he would've put a Dumpster right outside the Garden of Eden.
--page 3

Ratchet is 11 and she has always been homeschooled. Her mother died years ago and her father has been raising her alone. Since she was six, she has been helping her father with his job - he fixes cars in the garage. Her real name is Rachel, but no one calls her that. Her dad gave her the nickname because she reminds him of a ratchet, the way she helps make all his jobs easier. Ratchet doesn't like being different. She doesn't like that her father doesn't have a job where he wears a suit and goes to an office. She doesn't like being homeschooled. And she doesn't like never having any friends. This year, Ratchet has decided her life is going to change. She is going to make a friend.

This is a enjoyable story about a young girl trying to find her way. The story is told via entries in Ratchet's homeschool writing journal. Ratchet's voice is believable and quite relatable. She worries constantly that she is different and her father is different. She wonders about her mother. She wants to know more about her mother to maybe find out more about herself. And most of all she wants to find a friend. Since she doesn't go to school, making friends is harder than usual, but she is determined. I enjoyed reading Ratchet's story and I was rooting for her all the way. I wanted her to realize that people will like her for who she is and that she doesn't need to change for others.

Recommended to:
Middle grade girls (5th-8th). This is a fun story that I think young girls will relate to and enjoy. A quick, fun read with a positive female character.

This was one of those books that I breezed through quickly, thought about the appeal to readers (which is definitely there), but several things left a sour taste in my mouth. Also, you may mark this in your journals as one of the rare times I agree with a Kirkus review.

Abigail is excited to start sixth grade. She's got two best friends and they're absolutely sure they're going to be Pom Pom girls. If they don't, their lives will be over. But right away, things start going wrong. Abigail isn't in the same homeroom as her friends, who get a dreamy male teacher. She's stuck with Mrs. Hawke, who taught her mom and gives lectures on "kids these days" and is tough and is making them write letters to each other. Guess who Abigail got? Flabby Gabby, the biggest loser in school. When she doesn't get onto the Pom Pom squad, her life is officially over. Even getting to read to the kindergarteners for extra credit and the discovery that Gabby is actually kind of fun, can't make up for her disappointment, not to mention she doesn't want her erstwhile friends to see her around a loser - it will finish off any possibility of that friendship. When her dream comes true and she gets on the squad, is it really what she wants?

This is written in lists "five reasons my life will be over if I don't get on the squad", "three reasons Gabby is a loser" kind of thing. It appears to be heavily illustrated, but as I read it in ebook format on my kindle, I didn't see anything but the basic text. It's not exactly a graphic novel, but in the style of Jennifer Holm's Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf.

Girls will eat this up. The drama of friendship, the angst and embarrassment of middle school, the quick read aspect, the lists, all of it. I swallowed it down in half an hour and it was a quick, light read. Ms. Yingling says it's "pitch perfect middle school voice." But, and it's hard to tell how much of this is reading it as an adult, several things really bugged me. Abigail's family feels remarkably absent. They do little things for her, ask her how her day was, but there's no point where they really talk about what's going on. Some families are like that, of course, and presumably her parents think she should be handling herself in middle school, but it didn't seem to fit in well with the family lives of middle class suburbanites that I know.

The format of the book doesn't allow for a lot of character development, and Abigail is supposed to be a shallow, self-centered girl "a follower" as Gabby says, but to me she and the other characters were just too black and white. Sure, middle schoolers are self-centered, but even Abigail's epiphany at the end is about what she wants and likes to do and how guilty she feels about how mean she's been. Maybe this is me as an adult, wanting to say "you know, it's NOT all about you" to the kids but still...it bugged me. Gabby is so good she's unbelievable. She's a type of character that particularly bugs me; the ethnic character there to show how tolerant and broad-minded the main character is, the impoverished girl with the awful life to teach gratitude to the middle class, suburban girl. I cannot believe Gabby's goodness. Even when she finally loses her temper, it's only to deliver a very adult lecture to Abigail and walk away. All the Pom Pom squad girls, including Abigail's friends, are super nasty and irredeemable; the only thing she can ultimately do is walk away. The adults are totally oblivious to the nastiness and I can believe that about the subtle things, but not about everything they do. I also don't believe social services would allow Gabby to be in the custody of her brother, who can't be more than 18 at the most and a high school dropout, no matter what his motives are.

I'm also skeptical about the school. Now, I have, admittedly, limited experience with schools. But I can't see a teacher who's been in the game for over twenty years ignoring Abigail tackling and knocking over Gabby, accepting their lame excuses, or, and most importantly, being so blind to the girls' friendship drama. Choosing to ignore it and let them work it out on their own, sure, oblivious to it, no. I also don't see her being allowed to still be teaching after twenty years with such an eccentric curriculum. Do they have no tests, no state standards to meet? It sounds like no sixth grade language arts class I've heard about from teachers or students.

Abigail's innocence and naivety (in addition to her complete self-centeredness) was possibly the most realistic thing about her; she has no idea what her more sophisticated friends are getting at with their nasty comments about her friendship with Gabby, and she's thrilled that the eighth grade boy would invite her to a party and appear to be interested in her to the point of maybe even kissing her (omg please, please, please let there be chaperones at that party). As an adult, that whole thread of the plot just made me want to scream at the parents to at least try to teach their daughter some basic safety rules and how to deal with attention from an older boy.

Verdict: This is supposed to be a light, fun read and I can't grudge the kids that - I read plenty of fluff myself. But there are so many other books that will meet kids' desire for friendship angst and middle school drama, I find it hard to choose to spend my budget on this one with such stereotyped characters. So, it would definitely be popular. Girls will gobble it down. I do have lots of similar fluff series like Cupcake Diaries. But I'd rather spend my budget on books with similar appeal but a little more substance. I'd recommend Michele Hurwitz' The Summer I Saved the World, Calli be Gold, Tara Altebrando's The Battle of Darcy Lane, Wendy Mass, Lauren Myracle, Raina Telgemeier, Leslie Margolis, and for books that feature diverse characters (yes, I know Gabby isn't necessarily a minority character, but I'm thinking of her circumstances) as protagonists of their own stories, Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez and The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods.

ISBN: 9781402293030; Published August by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; E-ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

It's the start of 6th grade and all Abigail wants is to be a pom-pom girl. It's the most popular thing to do in school. Abigail and her two best friends have everything all worked out - until she doesn't make the team. Abigail is devastated. And that isn't the worst thing. She isn't in the same homeroom as her two best friends, she doesn't like her teacher, and most important she has been teamed up with the school's biggest loser.

Life in middle school is nothing like what Abigail imagined, she must rise to the occasion and learn about true friendships. This story is realistic with wonderful dialogue. This is a must read for every young girl entering middle school. Written in short lists, notes and journal entries, this makes for a great read especially for reluctant readers. A story of friendship and doing what is right, I give this book 5 stars!

I was immediately put off by this book within the first few pages when it talked about homeschoolers having no friends and getting an A+ on a paper when she just wrote the same sentence over and over. As someone who was homeschooled k – 12th grade, I always get angry when people assume we sit around doing nothing all day and are some kind of friendless hermits. I had plenty of friends growing up and worked super hard on my schoolwork. Now that I’ve gotten that little rant out of the way...

I loved the unique structure in which this story was written. Not only is it through Ratchets journal but it’s her social studies journal, which is formatted into different writing assignments like poetry, letter, fairytale, review, etc… I found this to be a very unique and interesting structure. At first I thought the fact that the whole book is in a funky, handwritten font would drive me up a wall, but your eyes adjust after awhile.

Once I was able to get past the stereotypical view of homeschoolers and the awful handwritten font, I really did fall in love with the story. Ratchet is a very likable main character who is learning how to deal with her embarrassing father, finding out about her absent mother and what it really means to be a friend. This is one of those middle grade stories that will be enjoyed by all ages. I highly recommend it!

Ratchet (real name Rachel) desperately wants her life to change. Her mother died when she was five and she lives with her mechanic dad who home-schools her and gets her to help him in the garage. Ratchet loves her father but finds him rather embarrassing. She wishes she could to go to school like other kids and that she didn't have to wear second hand clothes or live in ramshackle houses. But most of all she wants a friend - and so she makes a plan . . .
This book is the notebook Ratchet uses for her English school work. Each entry is different depending on what style she is instructed to use - free verse poetry, re-writing a proverb or fairy-tale a proposal for a project, a letter of complaint etc., but they are all about Ratchet and her efforts to change her life. And her life does change - but not in the way she expects..
Although I was initially put off by the format, I was soon hooked by Ratchet and her story. In the end I couldn't put this book down. Ratchet is very well-characterised and the other characters seem just as real. Although I predicted a couple of the plot twists, this didn't spoil my enjoyment of a good story that was well-told. Highly recommended for girls aged 9 and up.

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