Remembering Raquel

This was an original premise, and cleverly done. The only similar story I can think of is After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields. In spite of the topic I did not find Remembering Raquel depressing or melodramatic. A wide variety of characters had their say, and I found all the reactions realistic and compelling. A good, solid, beef and barley sort of book.

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

The facts as we know them: Raquel Falcone was fourteen years old. She was the class "fat girl." She loved her father, and her father loved her. Her best friend was Hayley Evenski. She died when a car hit her as she was leaving the movie theater.

The things we don't know: Pretty much everything else.

Told in alternating chapters that are more like the thoughts and ideas of those who knew her (and those who really didn't), REMEMBERING RAQUEL is a short but powerful story.

We hear from Hayley, Raquel's best friend, who feels that, even though she didn't go to the movies with Raquel that night, she still should have been able to prevent her death. We listen to the girls who now remember themselves as Raquel's show more friends, even though they wouldn't have given such a fat, invisible girl the time of day in real life (who knew death was such a popularity booster?). We hear from the boy who might have, maybe, one day, asked Raquel out on a date, or to the school dance. We get a glimpse of the older woman, another movie patron, who fears she may have been responsible for Raquel stepping into the path of that car. We listen to her father, who had already lost his wife, grieve over the fact that his last words to his daughter were "Yeah, yeah," said in a "whatever" type of voice as his daughter left the house.

Vivian Vande Velde is a great author who has mastered the pace of writing a short, emotional story. It's passages such as the one from Nona Falcone, Raquel's grandmother, that make this book worth reading:

"I've watched Alzheimer's steal my husband's memories, one by one, from most recent to oldest -- so that at the nursing home he'll say, "Hello," as thought I haven't been holding his hand for the last half hour. He'll give the smile that won my heart in high school and say, "Thank you for visiting me. Do I know you?"

Oh, Raquel. Why did God bless him, and not me?"

Pick up a copy of REMEMBERING RAQUEL. You'll be glad you did. show less

Remembering Raquel is a funny, touching, imaginative, and quick read. It is also a mystery a la the movie Rashoman has everyone is trying to figure out if Raquel's death was an accident, a murder, or suicide. Best YA book I read this year.

Raquel was a 15 year old who did not make much of a splash at school - quiet, overweight, not many friends. So when she died after being hit by a car, it is interesting to see the number of people who have a comment about her death. This book is written through a number of voices, including people at school, relatives, her father, people who witnessed the accident. What makes this device work for Vande Velde is that the sections are short, with names and how they are related to Raquel at the top. Each voice is also very distinctive. Even though there is a mystery associated with how Raquel died - was it suicide, an accident, or clumsiness - Raquel has left a very full life behind. This copy was an ARC that Jennie got me, and it will show more definitely find an audience among girls who love Lurlene McDaniel's books. show less

The story is told from multiple perspectives: her best friend, her father, the people with her when she stepped off the curb in front of the car, the woman that actually hit her, and various students from school. No one, except her best friend, really knew much about Raquel. She was shy, a little overweight, and someone that tended to be invisible. She didn't have any true friends at school, but you wouldn't know that after her death. Kids who never had anything nice to say about her weight, her clothes, or her overall appearance were at the funeral home on the day of the viewing crying and carrying on like they were her best friends. Kids from school started campaigns to reduce the speed limit on the street Raquel was killed on; money show more was collected to purchase a memorial bench for Raquel at the high school. Through the voices of all the people that surrounded Raquel while she was alive, we hear the story of how life went on after she was gone. show less

The tag line on the back of the cover reads, “How would you be remembered?”

Raquel, a ninth grader at Quail Run High School, has just died unexpectedly. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective. Through the variety of characters that talk about Raquel (or themselves) the reader gets a glimpse of what it must have been like for a slightly unattractive fourteen-year-old girl who was invisible to the rest of the student body.

Remembering Raquel by Vivian Vande Velde was an enjoyable read because it illustrates how we touch other people’s lives without ever knowing it. Raquel felt invisible at school, yet after she dies people gather to talk about the impact she made on their lives, which leaves the reader show more wondering – how would I be remembered? show less

Vivian Vande Velde is best known for her award-winning science-fiction and fantasy novels. This story about a teenager who is killed in an automobile accident as told through the eyes of those who knew her, is no fantasy. Vande Velde realistically captures the thoughts and feelings of the characters, including the driver of the car that struck and killed Raquel. Remembering Raquel illustrates the randomness of life and how little we really know about some of the people around us.

Raquel Falcone is killed when she steps off a curb and is struck by a car. In short, powerful chapters, she is remembered by family, friends, classmates, and those who witnessed the accident. Through the memories of others and entries in her diary, readers get show more to know this seemingly invisible girl. show less