A review by thebalancedbookshelf
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

4.0

I enjoyed this coming of age story and especially set in this time period. Being only a few years younger than the main character at this time there was a lot I could relate too. But there was also so much I didn’t realize that was going on at that time and especially in Ireland. It was interesting seeing how the financial crisis impacted people of all different ages. Rachel knew about Ireland’s political and financial condition but wasn’t really paying attention to it until it directly affected her.

The relationship between Rachel and James is fascinating. Everything between them was so intense and moves so quickly. The codependency they had was unhealthy but also makes sense for a time in your life when you’re figuring yourself out. Both characters were at that age where they needed to find themselves and in order to do that they ultimately needed to be separated from each other. It’s so interesting to see such a short period of someone’s life affect them both so profoundly. 

What I really loved was how this was written in the reflective. Rachel is an adult at the time of telling the story and realizes how young and self centered she was. I loved that end scene where she compares herself to Deenie and how she’s close to the age she was when everything went down. You can see that while she has grown she still struggles with the view of herself and how she needs to be perceived. I also really enjoyed how the title was brought in. 

I liked how the author shed light on the different social and economic issues by using two characters who were from different backgrounds trying to figure out their lives. They each had their own problems but at the same time were just kids trying to grow up in an uncertain world. This book portrays the messiness of adulthood no mater what age you are.