The Reappearance of Rachel Price has one very important trait that is shared amongst a majority of Holly Jackson’s novels. It is the absolute ability to leave an audience in pure shock and awe. The amount of time that I spent guessing what was going to happen next was completely pointless because it always ended up taking a turn that I didn’t see coming.
Even the characters were difficult to figure out. With so many secrets, it was difficult to figure out who was a hero and who was a villain, which made it impossible to put down the story. While the way that the story progressed made it difficult to see any growth in the characters, it was a perfect format for secrets to be revealed slowly as the reader gets to know each character. Seeing the progression through the eyes of the main character, Bell, gave the mystery a more personal touch and made the urgency that much stronger.
Though there were small time jumps throughout the story, there still remained a certain fluidity that added to the ease of reading. There was a great deal of potential for this story to get complicated and difficult to follow, but the documentary format helped clear up any discrepancies. It kept the story easy to follow as well as all the characters and their influence on the events. The documentary also allowed for Bell to have access to information that would have been much more difficult to get in a more believable way.
While the ending of the book was both shocking and thrilling, it was not as satisfying as I would have liked. There were a few facts that lacked the support needed to seem natural, instead, it felt forced just for the sake of a shock.
⅘ stars for a fun, thrilling read that is great for any lovers of Holly Jackson’s other works.
Be aware that the book deals with many heavy topics and it might be necessary for some to check trigger warnings.
A huge thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Novel Llama 