Remembering Raquel

November 12, 2007
Edgar Award–winning Velde (Never Trust a Dead Man
) covers well-traversed ground in this slender novel about a 14-year-old girl who is killed by an oncoming car after seeing a movie. Various people who knew the victim—or who think they did—narrate different chapters, slowly revealing aspects of Raquel’s personality and the circumstances of her death. While some chapters offer insight into Raquel’s misunderstood, loner-esque character (particularly those by her longtime best friend) others present fish-in-a-barrel ironies. Alpha girl Stacy Galbo, who has “admittedly good blond hair, green eyes, and a figure not ashamed of,” assumes that Raquel, who was heavy and not popular, found her fate tragic: “being her, while wanting to be me—surely she stepped into the path of that car on purpose.” Mara Ravenell, identifying herself as “the acknowledged expert at Quail Run High when it comes to petitions... or any other kind of social activism,” plans to use Raquel’s death as the cornerstone of her campaign for safer streets—either that or raise money to buy oxen for the underprivileged in Africa. A few passages are poignant, as in the bewildered confession by the driver of the car, but cynicism and more irony work their way into moments that readers might expect to have emotional depth, as in Raquel’s father’s recollection of Raquel’s behavior during her mother’s fatal bout with cancer. While this probe doesn’t get much past the surface, it builds up a gloss, hard and shiny, that many teens may find attractive. Ages 12-up.

December 1, 2007
Gr 7-10-This short, bittersweet story uses the voices of 20 different characters to tell of the death of a teenager. Classmates (male and female, friendly and unfriendly), relatives, onlookers, and friends reflect on 14-year-old Raquel's life and death as the book winds its way to her funeral. A wallflower at school, she is well loved by several credible figures, including an online gaming acquaintance who knows her only as her alter ego, Gylindrielle. Few of her classmates suspect the depth and creativity of her character, and readers are allowed only a glimpse at her personality (at one point reading the last few entries she made on her blog). In an eerie and subtle twist, they learn more about Raquel's death than any of the characters will ever know. The death of her mother the previous winter, the girl's reluctance to accept it, unsigned do-not-resuscitate orders, and the assumptions of a kindhearted EMT make readers wonder if Raquel's story might have, instead, continued with her life rather than her death, if only.... The book is perfect for reluctant readers; its short chapters and dramatic premise will appeal to both boys and girls, while the surprises revealed through the thoughts of those who knew (or merely knew of) Raquel will make students think about the coincidental possibilities that propel their lives forwardand have the potential to bring them to an end."Nora G. Murphy, Los Angeles Academy Middle School"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2007
The author, best known for her fantasy and mystery novels, shows she is also adept at contemporary realistic fiction in this moving recollection of an unpopular high-school freshman who is killed when a car strikes her walking on the street. Each member of the large cast of characters recounts his or her memories of Raquel, and the voices appear in prose, e-mail, and blog entries. What emerges is not only a sympathetic portrait of Raquel but also the human need to create connections, even when none exist. Vande Velde acknowledges the all-too-common reaction of claiming connection with a dead student to gain sympathy from others, but she places most of her focus on more meaningful recollections and the characters regrets over words and feelings left unsaid. A surprisingly moving ending connects all the myriad reactions from Raquels family, friends, and acquaintances and challenges readers to consider more carefully our interactions with others. Easily booktalked and deeper than it initially seems, this will be popular with reluctant readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)