Reggie's Journal, by Ronyx

[PeterSJC]

I tend to like "journal" stories, and this is one of my favorites. Fifteen-year-old Reggie initially hates his school assignment—to keep a journal for 16 weeks—but warms to it as the process helps him gain insight and maturity. At the same time, the story that Reggie tells was interesting enough that I stayed up to read it, until I fell into bed, and finished it after I woke up. This story breaks the general rule that you need a villain to keep the reader from getting bored: all of the important characters are quite sympathetic. 

I especially liked the aphorisms, written in boldface type, which Reggie inserted into his narrative. They started out pretty lame, then became one-line jokes worthy of a good stand-up comedian, and eventually were quite profound.

http://www.themustardjar.com/journalhome.html

p

[Rutabaga]

I feel like I must have read this some time in the past, primarily because of the bold one-liners -- they seem vaguely familiar. But I don't remember what happens. 

R

[colinian]

While Reggie's Journal was written and posted quite a while ago, it's as relevant today as it was in 2011. It's a wonderful story, written in 16 "weekly" entries, each of of which has at least 5,000 words, equivalent to the actual assignment dumped by Mr. Byrd on the kids in his first period Creative Writing Class.

Poor Ron! To write this story he had to actually go through the trials and tribulations that Reggie and the other kids in the class had to endure. It could have made him as frustrated and irritated and pissed-off as it made Reggie! I hope he enjoyed writing it as much as I've enjoyed reading it. Thank you, Ron.

If you haven't read Reggie's Journal, do so; if you've read it in the past, it's time to read it again. Whichever, you'll enjoy this funny and sad and wonderful coming of age story for the first time or as a repeat.

Colin 

 

[Cole Parker]

While I don't think there is a single story of Ron's I haven't loved, this one has always stood out to me as his best.  Wonderful story, a great treat waiting for anyone who hasn't yet stumbled across it.  I read so many of the stories in this genre, they tend to blur together. Not this one.  This one stands out and is memorable.

 

c

[AncientRichard]

I agree with others. Everything in that Mustard Jar is well worth reading!