Book Review: "The Reappearance of Rachel Price" by Holly Jackson

I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, since I was a huge fan of Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. I’m not sure if this is a standalone or the start of a new series, but it definitely was great either way!

Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price, a young wife and mother, disappeared without a trace. The only witness was her infant daughter, Bel, who was found alone in Rachel’s car, with the motor still running. The police and Rachel’s mother had some theories of what happened to her, but they couldn’t prove anything.

Bel has no memories of her mother, but Rachel is still a huge presence in her life, although Bel wishes everyone could move on. Yet when her father agrees that the family will participate in a documentary looking into Rachel’s disappearance, Bel is hoping it will end quickly and give everyone the closure they need.

One day, the unthinkable happens: Rachel reappears after being gone for 16 years. Her story of what happened to her is wild, and when Bel notices some inconsistencies, she starts to wonder what is true and what is not. Where was her mother all those years? Is Rachel the one she should be afraid of?

Bel decides she’s the only one that can figure out what really happened to Rachel. Along the way she realizes that lots of people know more than they’re sharing, and she uncovers a twisted web of secrets and lies that grows more confusing by the day.

I couldn’t put this down. The pacing is a little uneven but the twists toward the end come fast and furious. It’s a fun read, full of suspense and emotion.

My favorite movies of 2013...

Yeah, I know. Most critics do their "best of" lists at the actual end of the year they're highlighting. But then again, most critics have the chance to see all of a particular year's movies by the end of that year, and don't have to find themselves at the mercy of when the movies will be released to the "general public."

I saw 47 movies this year. That's a few more than 2012. Not bad. So now that I've had the chance to see all of the 2013 movies I could (I missed a few), I've ranked my 12 favorite movies of the year. Most won't surprise you, and you've probably seen many if not most of them, but perhaps you'll add one or two to your list of movies you need to see.

In a future blog post over the next week, I'll talk about which actors I thought gave the year's best performances, so what you'll find out is that in some cases, fantastic acting didn't make for a fantastic movie. For all except one, I linked to my full movie review if you want to read more.

1. Her: Admittedly, I'm a total sap, but Spike Jonze's smart, sensitive, thought provoking movie has so much going for it even without my emotional weakness. This commentary about a not-too-distant future where connecting with people will become so difficult that a sad sack loner (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with his computer's operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), and no one bats an eye, is funny and poignant, with lines I wish I could have recorded so I could use them again. Read my original review.

2. Fruitvale Station: Still can't get this powerful movie out of my head. It's based on the true story of Oscar Julius Grant III, a 22-year-old resident of California's Bay Area, who was inexplicably shot and killed by police at a BART station in the early hours of January 1, 2008. The movie follows Oscar (a fantastic Michael B. Jordan) on New Year's Eve Day, as the ex-con tries to put his life completely on track. You see what a good heart and soul he has (although you get glimpses of his troubled past in some flashback scenes), and how determined he is to make things work, job-wise and relationship-wise. Should have been a Best Picture nominee, at the very least. Read my original review.

3. 12 Years a Slave: Emotionally searing, painful, and powerful, Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave tells the true story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor, truly brilliant), a free black man living in Saratoga, New York with his family in the 1840s, who is accused of being a runaway slave while traveling in Washington, DC. He winds up on the plantation of a sadistic slave owner (a mesmerizing Michael Fassbender), and becomes the friend—and sole hope for salvation—of fellow slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o, in a starmaking performance of dazzling proportions), with whom the plantation owner is obsessed. Absolutely fantastic movie, although difficult to watch. Should absolutely win Best Picture next Sunday. Read my original review.

4. American Hustle: Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale, with a paunch and a bad comb-over) is a con artist married to the flighty, unstable Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), while smitten with Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams, never sexier). Irving and Sydney begin scamming people as a team until they run afoul of ambitious detective Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper, complete with Robert Reed's perm from The Brady Bunch). He forces the pair into working for him, setting people up that he can then arrest. The ultimate scam they set up seems too good to be true—convincing Camden Mayor Carmine Pulido (Jeremy Renner) to take a bribe from a fake sheik in order to rebuild Atlantic City. Richie decides that's not good enough—he wants the scam to entrap some members of Congress as well. (This is based on the Abscam scandal of the late 1970s.) And that's when things start to go completely haywire. Smart, tremendously well-acted, and funny. Read my original review.

5. The Way Way Back: While this isn't a film that blows you away, nor is it one that surprises with its plot, it was tremendously heartwarming and funny, and full of memorable performances. Shy, 14-year-old Duncan (Liam James) has to spend the summer at the beach house of his mother's horrible boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell, playing against type), who is abusive to everyone, especially Duncan. To escape, he finds a haven at Water Wizz, a water park straight out of the 80s allegedly managed by manchild Owen (a fantastic Sam Rockwell). This film combines the lightheartedness of summer comedies with actual sensitivity and intelligence, although it hit a little too close to home for me in a few places (and those who know me well will know why). Read my original review.

6. Short Term 12: Short Term 12 is the name of a foster care facility that focuses on teenagers with emotional issues. It's supposed to be a short-term solution until the county figures out a more permanent solution for these kids, but some wind up staying there for more than a year. The home is run by Grace (Brie Larson) and her goofy-but-lovable boyfriend Mason, who are fiercely protective of the kids but are not willing to cut them any slack. This is a quiet powerhouse of a film that keeps surprising you every time you expect it to take the usual turns. You learn surprising details about the characters, which give you more insight into their actions. In a perfect world, Brie Larson would have gotten a Best Actress nomination and Keith Stanfield, playing one of the home's residents, would have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Read my original review.

Movie Review: "20 Feet from Stardom"

What makes a song memorable to you? While there isn't one solitary factor—it could be a classic guitar or saxophone riff, amazingly poetic lyrics, or a can't-stop-singing-it refrain—one thing that nearly always captures me is the harmonies, the background vocals. Whether it's the "sock it to me-sock it to me-sock it to me" of Aretha Franklin's Respect, the "do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do" of Lou Reed's Take a Walk on the Wild Side, or Oleta Adams' soulful harmonizing during Tears For Fears' Woman in Chains, those and other similar moments keep songs stuck in my head—and make them fun to sing along with.

Except for rare occasions, we don't really think about the unsung heroes singing in the background. Who are these people, and did they choose a life behind the spotlight, or is this what they wound up with? These are the questions answered by the brilliant, engaging, and entertaining documentary 20 Feet from Stardom.

The film looks at background singers from the earliest days of rock and roll—particularly Darlene Love, who, with The Blossoms, was the first group of African-American background singers, whose sound everyone wanted to emulate—through current background singers. While director Morgan Neville shares viewpoints and ideas and inspirations from recording artists like Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and Mick Jagger, as well as musical experts and industry professionals, this is a film about those in the background.

Love, an annual fixture with her singing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) on David Letterman's show every year since 1986, is one of the five singers prominently featured in the movie. Love spent years under Phil Spector's management, and actually recorded a number of hits, only to find her voice was being used for other singers. The film also focuses on Merry Clayton, who most notably performed a duet with Mick Jagger on the Stones' Gimme Shelter (and who also had a minor hit with the song Yes in 1988, from the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing); 1970s background singer Claudia Lennear; Lisa Fischer, a Grammy-award winning singer in her own right, who is considered one of the best background singers in the industry; and Judith Hill, a background singer for Michael Jackson who rose to prominence when she sang at the singer's memorial service, and who was on The Voice earlier this year.

As a huge music fan, I absolutely loved this film, because it gave you the opportunity to see those whose voices I recognize but whose names and faces have not been known to me. You get to see the triumphs, the appreciation from the singers they work with (and the renown that these artists often give them on stage), and you also see the downside of perhaps being more talented than many artists out there yet never getting the chance for that big break. And in some cases, the breaks come, but these singers either didn't know how to handle them or didn't manage them well.

If you like music and like to immerse yourself in the inner workings of the industry, definitely see 20 Feet from Stardom. It gives you the exhilaration you get from a good movie, plus you get to hear some great music and some terrific stories. Once you see it, you'll think more about those people whose names don't show up on the record, or don't get mentioned by the DJ, but make the songs you like more memorable.