Ricki – Unleashing Readers

Sofia’s YA Book Nook: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

September 30, 2026 by Ricki

Sofia is a 14-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select weeks, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role! She talks about it below, but you can find her on Instagram here!

Hi readers! Before you read this review, I just wanted to let you all know about my new Instagram account, @sofias_ya_book_nook! On this account, I will be posting each time a new review comes out, along with some other types of fun book posts. I would really appreciate it if you checked out my page and followed so you can stay up to date! Thank you, and without further ado, onto the review!

Dear readers,

Lights, camera, action! Please welcome to the stage, The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson! This twisty YA thriller kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! Usually, I write book reviews a few days after I finish a book but this one took me three years to finally write! That doesn’t exactly sound like a positive, but at the time I read this novel, I must not have had the time to review it and have been thinking about it ever since. This all came to a tipping point late one night as I decided I would finally write the review for one of my favorite books. I can’t count how many times I’ve recommended this to my friends or family and am very happy to finally share it with you all!

Goodreads Summary

A new true-crime fueled mystery thriller about a girl determined to uncover the shocking truth about her missing mother while filming a documentary on the unsolved case. 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… From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.

My Thoughts

I am a HUGE Holly Jackson fan, and it is probably because of this book! I also loved the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series (review linked), Five Survive (review linked), and Not Quite Dead Yet (review linked). Anyway, now onto talking about the actual book! Bel has grown very close to her father ever since her mother had disappeared when she was young. She reluctantly agrees to help film a documentary about her mother’s disappearance, reliving all the old and painful memories. One day, after she comes home, she spots a disheveled looking woman on the street who looks exactly like her! Rachel Price has returned home after more than a decade and everybody wants to hear her story. The thing is, Bel isn’t sure if she can trust her mom, she has been acting strangely suspicious! The suspense in this book is crazy and so many wild things are constantly happening. This is probably my favorite YA thriller ever, and for good reason! I felt like I never knew who to trust, and definitely didn’t see the ending coming! If you love plot twists and a book that will get you attached to the characters, I am begging you to read The Reappearance of Rachel Price! The ending was insanely good and I found that it wrapped up all the loose strings nicely!

The Reappearance of Rachel Price is a thrilling YA novel with mature elements including abduction, violence, abuse, profanity, and murder.

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 9/28/26

September 28, 2026September 28, 2026 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Most Lessons Begin with a Book” by Mary Louise Kelly, Author of Dogs in Coats

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

It is my week off! You can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I am delightedly planning a grad student gathering today, so I am unable to post my books. I’ll catch you back here in two weeks!

Wednesday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

Sunday: Author Guest Post: Author Guest Post (and Giveaway!): “Getting Unstuck” by Jennifer Liss, Author of Wide Eye

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you share your Monday post, tag with #IMWAYR!

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 9/14/26

September 14, 2026September 14, 2026 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Wednesday: Educators’ Guide for Sneaks by Amy Tern

Sunday: “The Book That Taught Me to Ask WHAT IF?” by Jonathan White, Author of Secret of the Second Shelf

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

It’s my week off! You can learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

Young Adult

I enjoyed Gail Jarrow’s Spirit Sleuths, which explored the impact of magicians and detectives on ghost hoaxes.

The Pools by e. lockhart is an eery and symbolic novel that explores self-harm with the use of birds. It is a very powerful text, and I found it to be unforgettable.

If you are teaching The Crucible, you absolutely need to read (and include) Joy McCullough’s Suffer a Witch. It is her memoir of sexual assault, and layered within are the stories of the accusations of witches across time and place.

Adult

Because Margaret Atwood is speaking at the NCTE convention this year, I reread The Handmaid’s Tale! I love this book.

Adult Romance

I read the first book in Elsie Silver’s Rose Hill series, and I jumped to the fourth book, Wild Card, because I was getting a book for my birthday. I really liked this book a lot and found myself captivated by the romance! It made me want to do yoga! Elsie Silver is very talented at writing characters.

Joss Richard’s Let’s Kiss and Tell is a sweet romance that was very fun!

I don’t usually read historical romances, but this one was on a GoodReads challenge list. Sophia Benoit’s The Very Definition of Love is about a woman who is making a dictionary of all of the romantic words she doesn’t know. It was a great read.

Count me in for any bookstore romance, and I liked Brittanée Nicole’s Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore a lot!

I Reread These Texts to Teach Them Last Week!

I used Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer in my Banned Books and Censorship class this week, and it fostered a LOT of conversation! The students loved it.

I always start with Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter as an anchor text because it allows for great critical analyses. It is also a widely loved text, so I really enjoy discussing it with students.

We discussed Maria van Lieshout’s Song of Blackbird in one of the book groups, and it was widely appreciated. It gives students a lot to talk about!

Currently reading with my son: Everything’s Not Lost by Frederick Joseph

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Writing from the Margins” by Romina Garber, Author of Lobizona & Cazadora

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on other linked blogs. If you post about your Monday post, tag the post with #IMWAYR!

and

Sofia’s YA Book Nook: Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin

September 2, 2026 by Ricki

Dear readers,

Let me introduce you to a book that will truly transport you into Northern-Irish society, Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin! This Romeo and Juliet-style love story shows the harsh divide between Catholics and Protestants in Northern-Ireland. I learned a lot about Irish history, including the Troubles, and how those events still impact society today. This wonderful story is told from two perspectives, Aidan, a Catholic boy living in Derry, and Iona, a Protestant girl living in Londonderry. They live in the same town but refer to it differently, demonstrating one of the many divides between the religious groups. Aiden is ambushed late at night and beaten up, because of his Catholic beliefs, which leads Iona to save him. They slowly become friends, defying the societal barriers built between them.

Goodreads Summary

Derry. Summer 2016. Aidan and Iona, now eighteen, were both born on the day of the Northern Ireland peace deal. Aidan is Catholic, Irish, and Republican.

With his ex-political prisoner father gone and his mother dead, Aidan’s hope is pinned on exam results earning him a one-way ticket out of Derry. To anywhere. Iona, Protestant and British, has a brother and father in the police. She’s got university ambitions, a strong faith and a fervent belief that boys without one track minds are a myth. At a post-exam party, Aidan wanders alone across the Peace Bridge and becomes the victim of a brutal sectarian attack. Iona witnessed the attack; picked up Aidan’s phone and filmed what happened, and gets in touch with him to return the phone. When the two meet, alone and on neutral territory, the differences between them seem insurmountable. Both their fathers held guns, but safer to keep that secret for now. Despite their differences and the secrets they have to keep from each other, there is mutual intrigue, and their friendship grows. And so what? It’s not the Troubles. But for both Iona and Aidan it seems like everything is keeping them apart, when all they want is to be together …

My Thoughts

I picked this book up at a local bookstore when I was visiting Ireland this summer. I was looking for a book by a local author that could immerse me in Irish culture and teach me about the country I was visiting. I did not expect this powerful book to be such a rollercoaster of emotions! The struggles Aidan and Iona faced in their day-to-day lives were truly eye opening. I love the power books have to fully immerse readers into new places and this novel did just that! Filled with Irish sayings and historical references, I really felt as if I was an Irish teen. The amount of political tension in this tiny Northern-Irish town was wild. This “forbidden romance” does a great job of portraying the stress Northern-Irish teens face when just trying to be themselves. While this definitely wasn’t a light read, I still found it to be easily enjoyable!

Guard Your Heart is a YA novel, but still features mature themes of drinking, drugs, domestic violence, alcoholism, gun violence, suicidal thoughts and the death of a parent.

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 8/31/26

August 31, 2026August 31, 2026 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

Happy reading!

Wednesday: A Cheeky Reading List of Hilarious Picture Books About Butts from Sourcebooks Kids

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Teaching the Next Generation About September 11th” by Jacqueline Joyce, Author of Smoke at the Pentagon

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

It’s my week off! You can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

It’s back to school, and I am very busy! I will update about my books next time!

Wednesday: Sofia’s YA Book Nook: Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Empathy and Gratitude Through Immigration Stories” by Nazanin Agange Ford, Author of My America Blooms

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 8/17/26

August 17, 2026 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages

Happy reading!

Wednesday: Educators’ Guide for The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter by Barbara Carroll Roberts

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “The Facts About Creating Fiction” by Amy Fellner Dominy, Author of Monster Down Deep

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

It’s my week off! You can always learn more about any of the books I’ve been reading by checking out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I’ll be back to reading more young adult books now that the semester is starting! But for now, I read a few more adult novels.

Adult

I had been seeing a lot of praise for The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso, and it was a wonderful read. I particularly liked the way the author interpreted time travel.

Obviously, The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett has been mentioned everywhere. I listened to all 29 hours. It reminded me a lot of The Help in the writing style (not surprising because it is the same author!). I liked it a lot. It definitely has a White gaze element to it, but I find that interesting to ponder as I read. I really appreciate how Stockett builds character and teaches me a bit about history. The book was highly engaging!

Adult Romance

Annabel Monaghan’s Summer Romance is a rom-com with lots to smile about. I really liked it. The last third is a lot of romance. I liked the build up in the first two-thirds best. A great book, overall!

I love sports romances, and Anna McCallie’s Abby Offsides did not disappoint. I am married to a soccer player, so I loved the soccer references! This one doesn’t disappoint.

I pulled this one right off the table at a bookstore when I was visiting family. As I was checking out, another woman had the same book in her hand and told me the first one was incredible. I didn’t even realize this was a book two! Meghan Quinn’s Just For the Plot is a sports romance—although there aren’t a lot of sports in it. It’s mainly about the relationship between a man and his sister’s best friend. The sister’s best friend is eight years his senior, and he has had a crush on her since he was 16 years old. I couldn’t put this book down. It’s very fun and kept my interest from cover to cover. I’ll likely be following this series!

I have one more book in the GoodReads challenges to do before September 15, so I’ll be perusing those titles tonight!

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “The Child Who Feels Different: What They Need from Adults in the Room” by Dr. Nahal Delpassand, Author of The Seasons of Little Tree

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Sofia’s YA Book Nook: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

August 5, 2026 by Ricki

Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select weeks, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role! She talks about it below, but you can find her on Instagram here!

Dear readers,

Let me introduce, The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, a fast-paced thriller that kept me HOOKED!! The plot twists were genuinely insane and never failed to surprise me! This book feels like the perfect rainy day read, just make sure you have plenty of time since you won’t want to get up until you’re finished! It feels like there is non-stop tension between all the characters, making each new page a surprise. Millie is a housemaid with a criminal record at the house of the affluent Winchesters. She was hired by Nina, a seemingly crazy woman with extreme and strict demands for Millie. Then, there is Andrew and Cecelia, an exemplary father-daughter duo. This perfect family is unraveling at the seams and Millie just happens to be along for the ride.

Goodreads Summary

Don’t miss the New York Times and USA Today bestseller and addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that’s burning up Instagram and TikTok-Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid is perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, and Verity. Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband. I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late. But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am. They don’t know what I’m capable of…

My Thoughts

At some points, this book truly felt like I was watching a movie! I read this novel in a book club, which I highly recommend as it was super fun to discuss all of our predictions. Unfortunately, that meant that I was only ever able to read about 100 pages, which is the only thing that prevented me from finishing this book in one sitting! During the course of the story, I was constantly changing how I thought the end was going to play out. This story seemed well balanced in terms of pace and development, as some characters seem purposefully left in the shadows at the beginning as more is revealed toward the end. The entire book has a very unsettling and ominous mood which keeps you on your toes. The ending was fantastic and tied up any loose threads expertly. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series!

The Housemaid is an adult novel characterized by the prevalence of violence, infertility, domestic abuse, profanity and death.

**Thanks so much, Sofia!**