Remembering Raquel

Remembering Raquel by Vivian Vande Velde

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Nine years and one day after a boy I knew was killed when he stepped off a curb and was hit by a car, I read a book about a girl who stepped off a curb and was hit by a car. Perhaps this is why this book resonated so deeply with me. The difference between real life and the book, though, is that in real life the boy was well-known and well-liked, whereas Raquel is well-known by only a few people.

Remembering Raquel is told in a series of short "chapters," each told from the point of view of a different person--everyone from the janitor who cleans out her locker, to the EMT who responded to the scene, to the driver of the car, to Raquel's friends, family, and classmates. Short, poignant, and even sometimes humorous memories and regrets that together paint a picture of a girl I wish I'd known. This book may haunt me for a while.

For readers' advisors: character doorway


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