"The Reappearance of Rachel Price"

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

Pages: 430 Genre: YA thriller

Rating: 4 Star

Book Club Pick

Sixteen years ago, Bel's mother, Rachel Price, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Bel has lived in the shadow of this moment for her entire life, especially since her 2-year-old self was the only witness. This time, Bel and her father are digging up the past on purpose when they agree to do a true crime documentary on the subject. Everything is going as expected, until Rachel herself shows up on their doorstep. Rachel has an unbelievable story, at least according to Bel, who is convinced she's lying. And if she's lying about this, what else could she be capable of? Rachel threatens every part of Bel's life, and she's determined to uncover all of her lies to prevent that from happening further. But what happens when the truth isn't what you're expecting?

At this point, I'm a fan of everything Holly Jackson writes. She's just very talented, and she's good at making a wild story feel stressful and intense. That being said, this is probably the weakest of her books.

The thing that lost me was the character motivations. It felt like things were happening to create a plot as opposed to us peering into someone's life. I can't be more detailed without spoiling the story entirely, which I don't want to do, but it's safe to say that we were sort of missing a catalyst for some of the darker elements of the story. It just made the villains feel unrealistic and comical instead of like a real threat. I just think the overall plot lacked intention.

But don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this book. It was fun to read, and I loved Bel and Rachel as main characters. Bel was actually a really good main character. She was deeply flawed, but I enjoyed watching her grow and learn. Some of her development was a sprint at the end, but it worked well for the most part. And I enjoyed her attitude; her back-and-forth wit with other characters was some of the best parts of the book.

Using the documentary as a plot device was a good choice. The film crew added a level of tension that was incredibly important, and I enjoyed all those characters. The author plays off of both the intrusiveness and the humanity of true crime in a fascinating way that added a cool element to the story.

This book may not be my favorite of all time, but it's certainly not a waste to read. If you just let it be fun, then it'll be a good experience.