Rain Reign
By: Ann Martin
Most see an image of a dog on a book cover and groan and think, oh, no, the dog dies! I can’t read another sad dog story! Well, set your mind at ease! This dog does NOT die in the end, although there is an interesting twist not to be revealed in review.
Most of my classmates are ten years old or about to turn eleven, I’m almost twelve because no one is sure what to do with me (ARC, p.5).
Rose Howard is a girl on the autistic spectrum that obsesses over homonyms and prime numbers. She loads (lodes) her conversations with them, adds new ones to The List and generally annoys all (awl) with her literal interpretations of rules and need for (fore) strict routines. One (won) day, her father brings home a stray dog and Rose (rows) names the dog Rain, which has two homonyms (reign rein)! Since it’s hard to connect with the other students and her single father, Rose and Rain become inseparable. One stormy night her father lets Rain out and he doesn’t come home. Did he get washed away when the river spilled over the banks and the bridge collapsed? Rose steps out of her comfort zone and takes charge of finding Rain. Ann Martin captures her thoughts and struggles by (bye) telling the story from Rose’s point of view. Although this is a slightly burnished presentation of a child on the spectrum, the story is not actually about autism but emotions we all experience. Authentic, touching, quirky and humorous.
Review By: Debra Wietecha