The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson - HIGH

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson, 448 pages. Random House Children's/Delacorte Press, 2024. $16

Language: R (53 swears 121 'f'); Mature Content: PG (kissing); Violence: PG-13 (assault) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Rachel Price, mother of 18yo Bel, has been missing for over sixteen years. Bel’s father needs money to care for his elderly father, so he decides to participate in a documentary about the disappearance of his wife, Rachel Price. Bel doesn’t want to rehash everything over and over again but she wants to help her dad. She wonders if the documentary will help find her mom by rekindling the investigation. Also, Bel can’t shake the thought that her mom abandoned her all those years ago and that she just might be alive somewhere. The documentary is just the beginning of the chaos that's to come.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! The character development was interesting and the author showed Bel’s coping mechanisms of cruelty and shoplifting small items as a way to deal with the abandonment she’s had in her lifetime. The documentary idea was great as it helped show the changes in the family and Bel’s perspective of the situation. The ethnicity is predominantly white with mention of a brown skin background character.

LynnDell Watson, DHS Library