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1085 ratings | 302 reviews | avg rating:4.35

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Rachel Barenbaum

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

September 23

Website

http://www.rachelbarenbaum.com/

Twitter

rbarenbaum

Member Since

April 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/rachelb26

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ATOMIC ANNA is Rachel's second novel. The New York Times Book Review said it was “masterfully plotted." And the LA Review of Books called it "propulsive and intimate." Rachel's debut, A BEND IN THE STARS, was named a New York Times Summer Reading Selection and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection.

Rachel is a prolific writer and reviewer. Her work has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, the LA Review of Books, and more. She is a Scholar in Residence at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at Brandeis and her podcast, Check This Out, is sponsored by the Howe Library and A Mighty Blaze. She has degrees from Harvard in Business, and Literature and Philosophy. She is an elected Town Meeting Member in Brookline, MA. ...more

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Combine Editions
Rachel Barenbaum’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 8,325 ratings · 1,251 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Bend in the Stars 3.90 avg rating — 5,517 ratings — published 2019 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Atomic Anna 3.80 avg rating — 2,808 ratings — published 2022 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Rachel is Currently Reading

Rachel is currently reading

Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1)

by Parker S. Huntington (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Rachel rated a book it was amazing King of Wrath (Kings of Sin, #1) by Ana Huang (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rachel rated a book it was amazing Credence by Penelope Douglas (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rachel is currently reading Devious Lies (Cruel Crown, #1) by Parker S. Huntington (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rachel rated a book it was amazing Summer of Love by Kerri Maher (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Loved this book!! Another great one from Maher. Can't wait for her next novel. ...more
Jul 30, 2026 11:09AM · 1 like · like · see review
Rachel finished reading Credence by Penelope Douglas (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rachel rated a book it was amazing Summer of Love by Kerri Maher (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Loved this book!! Another great one from Maher. Can't wait for her next novel. ...more
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Rachel is currently reading Credence by Penelope Douglas (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Rachel rated a book it was amazing Blue Sky Black: A Second Chance Romance - Dual-Timeline by Lea Vale (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
An incredible debut!! Can't wait to read what Lea writes next. ...more
Jul 22, 2026 12:31PM · 1 like · like · see review

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Quotes by Rachel Barenbaum (?)

“Life is about choices, and no matter which ones you make, I love you. Don’t ever apologize for going one way or another, just know you can always change. You’re living proof of that, aren’t you? I’ve learned from my mistakes, too. Your papa and I, we both did. We should have let you do what made you happy, not what we thought was best.”
― Rachel Barenbaum, Atomic Anna

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“[...] survivors like that, well, they understood better than anyone how to get back on their feet.”
― Rachel Barenbaum, A Bend in the Stars

tags: bouncing-back, survival, survivor, survivor-quotes, survivors

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“Pregnant.”
― Rachel Barenbaum, A Bend in the Stars

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Polls

Time to determine the winner for the February Members Choice selection...

This poll will stay open until the end of the day on Jan 9th. Good luck with your nominations everyone...

Migrations

by Charlotte McConaghy

9 votes, 19.1%

The Daughters of Erietown

by Connie Schultz

8 votes, 17.0%

The Fifth Season

by N.K. Jemisin

7 votes, 14.9%

Writers & Lovers

by Lily King

5 votes, 10.6%

A Gentleman in Moscow

by Amor Towles

5 votes, 10.6%

The Orphan Collector

by Ellen Marie Wiseman

5 votes, 10.6%

Wild Seed

by Octavia E. Butler

4 votes, 8.5%

How Much of These Hills Is Gold

by C. Pam Zhang

2 votes, 4.3%

A Bend in the Stars

by Rachel Barenbaum

1 vote, 2.1%

The Yellow Bird Sings

by Jennifer Rosner

1 vote, 2.1%

47 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Busy as a Bee Books: 5/14/19: Book News	5	5	May 16, 2019 06:14PM
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The Seasonal Read...: 30.1 - Ava Catherine's Task: Redemption	26	58	Apr 01, 2020 07:17AM
Play Book Tag: [Poll Ballot] A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum - 4 stars	10	16	Jun 27, 2020 06:22PM