Rain, Reign

by Ann M. Martin

This is how you tell a story: First you introduce the main character. I’m writing the story about me, so I am the main character.

Rose loves homophones, and she loves her dog.  Rain is the name of her dog, and that is his name because her father brought him home to her one rainy night. This got to me, because my dog Thunder was named Thunder because  . . .

So she had me from the start.

I didn’t read long before the story sucked me in. The storytelling has a rhythm that I found easy to fall in to.

Rose has a passion for homophones, prime numbers, and rules. I found her likable and a bit heart tugging. Her father is ill equipped to handle a special needs child, and struggles to overcome his own experiences stemming from an abusive background. He is determined to not repeat his own father’s mistakes. Too often, he finds solace in drinking at the local bar. He does not understand Rose. Rose has an Uncle, Weldon, who often steps in and is a good influence in her life.

I saw the end coming and knew what Rose was going to do but could not stop reading. This is good story telling. I had to put the book down a couple of times towards the end, because I related too much to the whole kid and a dog thing. Yes, I am a sucker for those kind of stories. If you are too, you might like this book.

This book could be used to help children understand and gain empathy for those different from themselves. There are many possible topics of discussion. I would mention that not everyone on the spectrum has the same issues, needs, foibles, gifts, and personalities. As the saying goes, if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. I found the character of Rose believable and interesting.

For grades 4-6 or older

Issues of concern

Only parent is portrayed in negative light/not a positive portrait of a parent, in one instance father gets angry and kicks the dog, father drinks and spends time at the local bar, children at school tease and mock Rose, special needs, hurricane/flood, lost dog, absent mother

Ann M. Martin introduces and shares some of the back story for creating Rain Reign. Rain Reign Meet-the-Author Book Reading 

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© 2015, Donna Stone. All rights reserved.