Skip to main content

Review: What Happened to Rachel Riley?

Image
By

By Claire Swinarski
New York: Quill Tree Books, 2023. Mystery.

12-year-old Anna Hunt is the new girl in school. Starting a new school in eighth grade should be scary, but she's surprised that the kids at her new school are mostly pretty nice -- to her and to each other. With the major exception of Rachel Riley. Anna can't figure out any reason why the kids in her grade wouldn't like Rachel Riley, but she is a complete and total outcast. Anna can't stop thinking about what happened to make Rachel Riley -- a girl who seemed popular and friendly -- turn into a social pariah. Anna dreams of being the next Sarah Koenig, so she turns her investigative podcast skills towards the story of Rachel Riley and starts asking the difficult questions of her peers to figure out what happened.

This is a quietly suspenseful book and a great audiobook that reads like a podcast. We are solving the mystery of what happened to Rachel Riley right alongside Anna. The slow reveal works well for this book, and clues dropped along the way show what happens when bullying goes beyond bullying and into the land of sexual harassment -- and the ways that harassment can be swept under the rug. The characters in this book are complex, the plot and pacing are compelling, and older middle grade readers will be invested in the mystery.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

By
Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.
Post a Comment
Read more

Dragon Run

By
Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...
1 comment
Read more

From Story Time: Summer Week 5

By
  Stories in the Park Mousterpiece: A Mouse-Sized Guide to Modern Art By Jane Breskin Zalben New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2012. Picture Book. Janson the mouse, who lives in a museum, becomes an acclaimed artist by copying the styles of paintings she sees there. Includes notes about the artists and works featured. --Editor Stories in the Park Gray Written by Laura Dockrill Illustrated by Lauren Child Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2024. Picture Book. Some days you may feel sunshine yellow or orange-balloon bright. Other days you're gray, or even night-sky black-like a dark scribble on a page, a storm in the clouds, or a puddle in the road. Gray is when you don't feel like yourself, or like you don't belong. But however you feel, there are big hugs (red) and loving lullabies (blue) waiting, and even the grayest sidewalk is a canvas for you to fill with the colors you choose. A tender narration from British spoken-word poet Laura Dockrill and subtle, spare artwork from fo...
Post a Comment
Read more