Trouble on Tarragon Island

Emily Walters Gregor is a graduate student in 20th-century American
literature and an ESL writing tutor at the University of Minnesota.

Fourteen-year-old Heather Blake is mortified by her grandmother’s
latest antics as an environmental activist with the Ladies of the
Forest. Things were bad enough when she posed nude in a fundraising
calendar; now she’s joined a sit-in protesting the logging of
old-growth forests on B.C.’s Tarragon Island.

At school, Heather finds herself in the middle of a battle between
those whose livelihood comes from the logging industry, and the
“greenies” who see her grandmother as a heroine. Tate courageously
explores all sides of her protagonist’s character, allowing her to
make mistakes that deeply hurt her grandmother as she struggles to
understand the different sides of the protest as well as the role of
social activism in a democracy. Heather even starts up a local program
to improve literacy.

The process of learning how to better understand herself and the world
around her is facilitated by her writing. Through letters to friends,
journal entries, articles in the local paper, and fiction she shares
with a local writing group, Heather learns both the power of writing and
its limits. This part of the book will particularly appeal to readers
who enjoy writing; various writing exercises and discussions about
writing are integrated into the plot. Trouble on Tarragon Island is an
exciting and enjoyable addition to Tarragon Island series. Highly
recommended.