1056 ratings | 292 reviews | avg rating:4.34

more photos (1)

Rachel’s Year In Books

Rachel’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Rachel’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Rachel’s 2025 Year in Books

Rachel Barenbaum’s Followers (457)

Rachel’s Bookshelves

to-read (795)
currently-reading (2)
read (1098)
did-not-finish (0)
amazing-audiobooks (7)

Rachel’s Friends (71)

Joanna

3,215 books | 104 friends

Emily Ross

733 books | 460 friends

Cara Wood

2,264 books | 120 friends

Andi_loves_2_read

2,279 books | 39 friends

Angel

1,950 books | 386 friends

Hilary Ryder

1,181 books | 56 friends

Susan

1,377 books | 103 friends

Janet Edwards

377 books | 7 friends

More friends…

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

edit data

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

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Rachel Barenbaum questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Rachel Barenbaum’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 8,237 ratings · 1,236 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Bend in the Stars 3.90 avg rating — 5,459 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 — 2,778 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

Leave Your Mess at Home

by Tolani Akinola (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Apr 17, 2026 07:54AM

Rachel is currently reading

American Han

by Lisa Lee (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Apr 17, 2026 07:54AM

rss
Rachel’s Recent Updates

Rachel wants to read 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
Apr 24, 2026 11:19AM · like
Rachel rated a book it was amazing The Wild Card (Vancouver Storm, #5) by Stephanie Archer (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
Apr 23, 2026 08:36AM · like
Rachel rated a book it was amazing Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows, #1) by Devney Perry (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
YES. More please!! Love this series.
Apr 23, 2026 08:35AM · like · see review
Rachel rated a book it was amazing Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows, #2) by Devney Perry (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
LOVE this series!! I can't wait for book 3. ...more
Apr 23, 2026 08:34AM · like · see review
Rachel rated a book it was amazing Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows, #2) by Devney Perry (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
LOVE this series!! I can't wait for book 3. ...more
Apr 23, 2026 08:34AM · like · see review
Rachel finished reading Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows, #2) by Devney Perry (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
Apr 23, 2026 08:34AM · like
Rachel is currently reading Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows, #2) by Devney Perry (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
Apr 20, 2026 07:07AM · like
Rachel rated a book it was amazing Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age by Vauhini Vara (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 it! Vauhini will be a guest on my show to discuss AI and the future of writing.
Apr 20, 2026 07:07AM · like · see review
Rachel is currently reading Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows, #1) by Devney Perry (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Romantasy	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
Apr 20, 2026 07:07AM · like
Rachel rated a book it was amazing Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age by Vauhini Vara (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 it! Vauhini will be a guest on my show to discuss AI and the future of writing.
Apr 20, 2026 07:06AM · like · see review

More of Rachel's books…

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

0 likes

“[...] 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

0 likes

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

0 likes

See all Rachel Barenbaum's quotes »

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

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Busy as a Bee Books: 5/14/19: Book News	5	5	May 16, 2019 06:14PM
Play Book Tag: I won a GR Giveaway!	19	41	Jul 08, 2019 01:34PM
A Million More Pages: Historical Fiction	84	112	Oct 26, 2019 08:46PM
The Seasonal Read...: * Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POST IN THIS THREAD	3595	379	Feb 29, 2020 09:00PM
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