Chapter 1 Summary

Rachel sits at the kitchen table with her parents, describing the scene in her notebook and writing about her feelings of alienation from them. She hopes eventually to create a short story about her family. She has aspired to be a writer ever since the noted author, Wilda Sycora, visited her school 2 years ago.

Rachel wishes her family were more like the Cosbys on TV. Instead of witty remarks and family conferences, she has parents as old as most people's grandparents, and two grown brothers. Instead of glamorous jobs like doctor and lawyer, her parents are an accountant and a secretary. Her oldest brother, Phil, is a car salesman, and Jeremy is a waiter. Rachel thinks her plump, soft, compassionate father looks like a whale. Her excitable mother looks like a moose with her full body and skinny legs.

Her parents have called...