Title: The Secret Life of Rachel Barrowovski
Author: Angela Anwyl
Publisher: Great Writers Media
ISBN: 978-1952046391
Genre: Adventure Fiction
Pages: 156
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown-Gilbert
Pacific Book Review
Secrets and mystery abound in author Angela Anwyl’s endearing work of fiction for young readers; The Secret Life of Rachel Barrowovski. Featuring an appealing and admirable central character, this youthful tale is woven with elements of science fiction, adventure, camaraderie, and self-discovery. Set in England, author Anwyl artfully engages from the start with a brief but intriguing scene, where it appears that a nefarious plan is set into action, which instantly piques the curiosity while inventively setting the tone of mystery for the overall story.
Then moving into the story, we meet Hilltop school’s newest student, eight-year-old Rachel Barrowovski. Arriving in a black limo on her first day of school, she is insolently told to exit the car by an uncomfortably imposing man, who seems to have plans for Rachel and the Hilltop school. However, Rachel maintains a calm demeanor, she is quiet, reserved, polite, highly intelligent (she seems to always have the right answers) and an outstanding athlete; in fact, Rachel appears to be unnaturally perfect. Nonetheless, her perfection seems to cause discontent with others as Rachel is disliked by her fellow classmates as well as her teacher Ms. Sharp also known as “Sharp the Shark.” Albeit, it is a twist of fate occurring through an innocuous class event that turns the tide when it comes to how Rachel is perceived and treated by her classmates, as they begin to empathize with her plight and treat her more like a dear friend than an enemy.
Meanwhile as the story progresses, Rachel’s true home life comes to light, as Rachel divulges her complete and shocking back story at a birthday celebration with her classmates at her home, which serves to endear the others to her even more. Then, at this point the narrative takes a turn for excitement, adding adventure to the intrigue as Rachel soon finds herself abandoned – but saved by a family who lovingly adopt her giving her a second chance at life.
Altogether, The Secret life of Rachel Barrowovski, by is a layered, intelligent story, that turned out to be a completely satisfying read. On the whole, I found the story to be heartwarming, humorous, as well as inspiring, particularly because of the wisdom included within the story. Also, although this is a story geared towards young readers there is a wealth of important life lessons that adults could learn from as well; including forgiveness, redemption, love and acceptance. What I found to be entertaining within the story is the taste of English culture, as well as a tour of England as Rachel’s adventures progress. This would make a great addition to a young readers library.
