Rain Reign (Ala Notable Children's Books. Middle Readers)

(Originally posted on Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks book blog.)

Rain Reign was amazing, powerful, emotional and I really related to it. I'm giving it 5/5 stars.

To tell you guys the truth, when I was contacted to review** Rain Reign I didn't quite know what to expect, especially because it's described as a "powerful story" and "brilliantly told." I mean, I devoured all of Ms. Martin's Babysitter's Club books I could get my hands on when I was in the fourth and fifth grade, but it's been years and years since I read a book by her. I can name all of the BSC members but I wouldn't call the books in the series "powerful." The BSC books were fun but, you know, ultimately forgettable.

Yeah. Rain Reign is something else.

Rain Reign will stay with me for a long time. It's right up there with Wonder (Palacio), Love That Dog (Creech) and Three Times Lucky (Turnage), which are some of my all-time favorite middle grade novels. I am going to be pushing this book to my sisters, my fellow teachers (especially those who teach fourth grade and up--I'd push it on my own students too, but I teach second grade and they're too young), our school librarian and basically everyone.

Yep, it's that good.

Fifth grade Rose Howard is a high functioning autistic obsessed with homophones, rules and numbers (especially prime numbers). She lives alone with her father, who divides his time working as a mechanic and going to The Luck of the Irish bar drinking beer. One rainy night he comes home with a dog for Rose--basically, it was the best thing he ever did for his daughter. Rose named the dog Rain (Rein, Reign--a special homonym trio!) and she became Rose's companion and best friend. When a really bad hurricane hits their small town, Rain goes missing. Now, Rose must find her dog. But in her search she discovered that Rain's original owners were also looking for him.

I love Rose. I love her voice as she told the story--it's authentic and it really pulls you in. She really resonated with me because I see my brother (he has a learning disability) in her, as well as former students I've had and students I see at my school presently. Reading the parts where her classmates were giving her a hard time and bullying her was painful because my brother went through that. I rejoiced when she finally made a connection with one of the girls in her class. And the way her dad treated her... my God! Good thing she had her uncle. I was so happy with how things turned out for her family by the end of the novel--Rose really, really needed that.

I cannot count the times I teared up while reading Rain Reign. There were so many feels in this book. My heart broke for Rose so many times, especially after she lost Rain. She already had so little in her life and to lose the one thing that made home life bearable... just thinking about it now while I'm writing this review is making me tear up. But Rain Reign was not all misery and sadness, there were some funny moments and uplifting moments that makes you cheer for Rose. And I read the last page with a smile on my face.

Rain Reign is a beautiful, brilliantly written novel with a wonderful heroine who will grab your heart. Like I said, I'm going to be pushing this novel to everyone I know. It's very readable (I actually read it in one sitting) and can be easily read and enjoyed by upper elementary and older students. I urge you to pick up Rain Reign today or tomorrow or whenever, but do not let this novel pass you by.

**I received this book from the publisher for this review.

Could have done without the puppy-beating episode (not really necessary to the story), but an excellent choice for elementary/middle school readers, with plot twists/ups-and-downs/resilient characters.

Nicely told. Heart-wrenching and straightforward. This book delivers an accurate, sympathetic portrayal of a "high-functioning" autistic. A similar book, COUNTING BY 7S, while not as realistic, has a more engaging plot, an unusual theme, and a cast of wild characters.

Rose Howard is a 5th grader, obsessed with homonyms -- words that sound the same but spelled differently. She also has Asperger's Syndrome. She hates when people don't follow the rules, especially when it comes to laws of traffic and grammar. When she's scared or anxious, she rattles off lists of prime numbers.

With her mom not in the picture, Rose lives with her father while her Uncle Weldon lives just right down the road, serving as a sort of surrogate father to Rose when her father is going through one of his "not emotionally available" periods. One rainy night, Rose is surprised with her father coming home with a dog in his arms -- a yellow lab / mutt mix -- claiming it was stray he found that he thought Rose might like. Rose immediately bonds with the dog and, a nod to her love of homonyms, names him Rain (Rein, Reign). Rose struggles with creating or maintaining human friendships, so the pup becomes some much welcome companionship for her. That is, until the night of a hurricane when everything changes.

Rose and Rain, though spooked by the storm, eventually doze off that night. Rose wakes to find Rain gone. When she asks her father about it, he tells her he let the dog out briefly during the night but he thinks maybe Rain got too close to a nearby creek, so they'd have to wait for Rain to find his way back home. Days go by, Rose starts to go mad with worry, so with the help of her uncle sets out to find out what happened to her dog. After many days of calling and asking around, she eventually tracks down Rain but reuniting with the dog also ends up revealing a secret about the dog's past, a secret that will force Rose to make one of the most difficult decisions of her young life.

According to author Ann Martin, Rain Reign was loosely inspired with Martin's own experiences witnessing the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in 2011. Walking through the areas of destruction, Martin couldn't help but wonder and worry over all the pets that must have become displaced by the storm. Those thoughts inspired her to craft this story.

I was a little surprised in the shift in personality with Rose's father. In the beginning of the story he seemed like a good guy who was just a little stressed trying to raise a daughter with a learning disability virtually on his own. But as the story progressed, he just got meaner and meaner til one pivotal, dark scene that actually proved to be a bit triggering for me in its brief violence. Because of that, I was REALLY surprised at his behavior at the end. Would not have guessed him to do that, but I did find it a little touching. Sad, but touching, in a way. I found myself rooting for Uncle Weldon to hopefully be given the opportunity to take over the care of Rose because he seemed to just naturally sense the perfect way to communicate with her and was so sweet and patient with any request or concern she came to him with, a stark contrast to her father growing progressively more dark-spirited as the novel went on.

This story had its touching and painful moments yet I still feel like it fell short of being really great. It was almost there but there was just a little something I can't quite place that held it back, just shy of amazing.

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: This novel has brief scenes of suggested child abuse.