54 pages • 1 hour read
Claire SwinarskiWhat Happened To Rachel Riley?
Nonfiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Podcast Recordings
The podcast recordings are an important plot device and recurring motif in the book. The narrative structure of the book encompasses multiple different forms of media, including text messages, notes that students pass in class, school assignment briefs, newspaper articles, emails between different people, and transcriptions of podcast recordings. Each form of media offers a different lens into the story of what happened to Rachel Riley. The podcast recordings, featuring conversations between Anna and key characters in the book, offer an objective perspective on other characters’ sides of the story without Anna’s feelings or commentary influencing what is narrated.
As a recurring motif, the recordings specifically highlight the theme of The Pursuit of Justice and Truth in the Face of Social Resistance. Anna begins recording conversations for the podcast as part of her investigation into what happened to Rachel. This investigation, in turn, is born from Anna’s strong sense that what is happening to Rachel is unjust; she believes that uncovering the truth will help right this injustice. She also chooses the format of a podcast because the fictional podcaster Mimi Miller, who interviews people from different walks of life and features their stories on her show, inspires her. Just as Mimi’s podcast offers multiple perspectives, so do Anna’s podcast recordings within the book. Furthermore, it contributes to the uncovering of the truth and delivers Rachel the justice she deserves. Notably, the podcast recordings feature conversations with Kaylee, Cody, and Rachel, and Anna eventually pieces together what happened.
Emails to Babcia
Anna’s emails to Babcia are an important recurring motif and plot device in the book. Like the podcast recordings, they are a type of media that regularly supplements the first-person narrative. However, Anna’s emails to Babcia are distinctive in the perspective they offer. The podcast recordings feature a view into conversations between Anna and other characters. The first-person narrative spotlights Anna’s perspective and describes or recounts incidents and interactions with other characters. The emails, however, entirely represent Anna’s internal monologue and reflections about the new information she continually gains throughout her investigation. The emails in the book are only the ones that Anna pens to Babcia. The text does not reproduce the responses that Babcia writes to Anna.
In these emails, Anna reflects and reports on a range of different things, but most especially how her experiences are forcing her to contend with The Interaction of Social Pressure and Identity Formation in Middle School. They show the evolving nature of identity formation in the middle school years as Anna grapples with social pressure and her changing feelings about herself and her role within her peer group. She consistently describes how she feels less confident and reassured among her peers and is in awe of how well her mother and sister fit into their new lives in Madison. In this way, the emails to Babcia function as a motif to highlight Anna’s challenges in her environment and developing identity.
Penguins
Penguins are a recurring motif within the book within the larger narrative device of Anna’s emails to Babcia. Anna first mentions penguins in her emails to Babcia when describing how this is her topic of choice for her science project. Subsequent emails include facts about penguins, but they eventually evolve into observations about penguin behavior that mirror what Anna is noticing and feeling within her world. For instance, she mentions penguins having camouflage at a point in time when she wishes that she were invisible, remarks on how penguins huddle together for protection shortly after she has expressed solidarity with Rachel by dumping punch on Blake during the dance, and describes how penguins are loyal right after she discovers how Rachel was covering for Jordan the entire time.
The evolution of the references also mirrors the journey that Anna’s investigation into Rachel has taken throughout the book. Anna’s interest in Rachel is originally her topic of choice for her social issues class; however, she ends up uncovering something much more important and impactful than just the dynamics of popularity. Similarly, Anna’s research on penguins, meant for a science project, offers her insight into animal behavior that she uses to relate to the people and relationships around her, including her relationship with herself.
