Sarah O'Connor

“Forgetting was just another way of leaving, and everybody left eventually,” (Jackson 289).

Sixteen-years-ago Rachel Price vanished, leaving her two-year-old daughter Bel in the backseat of their car with no memories of who took her. Now eighteen, Bel is a part of a documentary talking about the case and how Rachel’s disappearance has affected her, though she really wishes everyone would forget about her, Bel certainly has. But that changes when Rachel reappears at Bel and her father’s doorstep with an unbelievable story of where she’s been, unbelievable because Bel doesn’t believe it. Something isn’t right about Rachel or her story and with the help of one of the documentary crew, Bel is going to find out what that is so that her life can return to normal, with just her and her dad.

I’d heard a lot about Holly Jackson, especially her A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. But her newest standalone has been getting a lot of hype, praised for it’s increasing plot twists and so when I saw it on display at the library I did the sane thing and checked it out. And, well, it’s a pretty standard YA mystery.

Bel is one of the angriest YA protagonists I’ve ever read about. Not that this is warranted given her backstory, but some more vulnerable moments from her would have really helped round her out. The Price family are all written fairly stilted and awkward. None of them really stuck out for me aside from Carter, I loved her! And sure, I didn’t expect all of the twists, but they weren’t as earth-shattering as some Goodreads reviewers made them sound. The last few chapters did really hook me, lots of revelations and action, but even all of that was pretty unrealistic.

And this is going to sound mean, but Jackson is a U.K. writer and while reading I just imagined all of the characters speaking with bad, forced American accents. The dialogue didn’t feel authentic. I know with the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series there were some significant changes between the original U.K. publication of the book and the U.S. release, most notably changing the setting from the U.K. to the U.S. and some reader’s acknowledging that the dialogue in the U.S. version felt unbelievable. It makes me wonder if something similar happened with this book, but I think the book is too new to find out any changes right now (at least my research right now has turned up nothing). It also makes me wonder which version Canada uses, since with Harry Potter we used the U.K. version. Maybe someday I’ll bother to find out.

Also, don’t mention it’s black bear season three times and not have a black bear show up. Chekov’s gun and the rule of three are tropes for a reason!

The Reappearance of Rachel Price will be sure to hook some readers, but not this one. I understand the hype around Jackson though, she’s a great writer who knows how to hook an audience. I just don’t know if I’m the right reader for her.

Publication: April 2 2024
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 448 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤
Summary:

Lights. Camera. Lies.
18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.
But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.
Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And – could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .