This is a story told in lists, journal entries, poems, letters. Vicki Marnet is a writer, and her writing helps her to deal with the mess her family life has become. Her dad has lost his job, after working for the same company for 28 years. He's having a lot of trouble finding a job, and is depressed. Vicki's family has to sell their home in the suburbs and move to an apartment in the city, where her mother has found a receptionist job. It means switching schools, leaving friends, and selling off treasured belongings to help pay the bills -- and they don't have room for them in the apartment anyway. Vicki's brothers seem to handle the changes much better than anyone else, but they also don't stick around much to help out. When Vicki's dad disappears suddenly, they are forced to take in a woman who rents a room, and Vicki does something awful. If you make a really terrible mistake, how do you make up for it? How do you earn back the trust of your family? A timely story of hardships and choices. 7th grade and up. ( )

Vicki loves to write. She shares her inner most feelings with us through her journal. We follow Vicki as she has to move to a new neighborhood because her father lost his job , start a new school, makes new friends and tries to adjust to all of the changes.

Norma Fox Mazer wrote this story from the point of view of Vicki's journal. The story is told through, journal entries, poems, lists, and some narrative. This is a great book for young adults going through similar changes.

This book would be an excellent example of a unique writing style to tell a story. ( )

A young girl faces her problems by writing down her thoughts about the family's personal and financial crises, including the loss of her father's job and the selling of their home.