SuitabookThe gossip file
Anna Staniszewski
- Reading
- Read alongside the changing relationships rather than focusing only on the mystery of the Gossip File. Pause to ask what Rachel wants, what she is concealing and whose privacy may be affected.
- Themes
- Identity and belonging: Rachel adopts the name and persona “Ava” after being mistaken for an intern, hoping to impress older café workers. The situation invites attention to the appeal and complications of presenting oneself as someone else, but the available ending does not show whether this is criticised or affirmed.
- Gossip and privacy: The café workers ask Rachel to help add resort gossip to a file, and one entry concerns a secret about Ellie. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Family expectations: Rachel expects a relaxing holiday with her father but instead helps at Ellie’s café and feels she has little time with him. The situation gives Rachel’s frustration a clear place while also introducing Ellie and her son into the holiday; the broader resolution of these relationships remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Attention may be warranted around lying about identity, collecting “juicy” personal information, strained feelings towards a parent’s partner, and disappointment when hoped-for time together does not happen.