All About Middle Grade Review: Rain Reign

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin, October 7, 2014. 240 pages. Published by Feiwel & Friends. Source: publisher for review.

Rose Howard has OCD, Asperger’s syndrome, and an obsession with homonyms (even her name is a homonym). She gave her dog Rain a name with two homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose’s rules of homonyms, is very special. Rain was a lost dog Rose’s father brought home. Rose and Rain are practically inseparable. And they are often home alone, as Rose’s father spends most evenings at a bar, and doesn’t have much patience for his special-needs daughter.
Just as a storm hits town, Rain goes missing. Rose’s father shouldn’t have let Rain out. Now Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search. Rose will find Rain, but so will Rain’s original owners.

Hearts will break and spirits will soar for this powerful story, brilliantly told from Rose’s point of view.

First Sentence:

I am Rose Howard and my first name has a homonym. 

I am going to make a bookish confession before talking about my thoughts on Rain Reign. Ready! This is only my second book, ever, by Ann M. Martin. While  one of my sisters has read the BSC books, I have only read one of the Baby-Sitters Little Sister books; until now that was the extent of my Ann M. Martin reading.

I am finding it difficult to even remotely know where I should start on this review. Rain Reign was one of those books that gets into your heart with it's story; Rose's tale is one that hit me right in the heart as she is one special girl (and not in the sense of, as she dubs it, her diagnosis); y'all must read about her and Rain in this book (really). Seriously though, Rose's story and her journey was so touching and it was such a pleasure to read about her growth throughout this book.
   Ann M. Martin's Rain Reign had been sitting on my TBR stack for a couple months now. Long enough for me to forget what first drew me to wanting to read this book and, again, long enough for me to not remember what the synopsis said it was about. Truthfully, going in blind gave me more of a chance to connect to the story because I had nothing to go on.

So, Ann M. Martin, well, her writing was really quite great in her newest book. While I may not be familiar with her older work, I really thought she did a great job with the overall story of Rose and Rain. One of the reasons I found myself enjoying her writing as much as I did is because her writing came across as very open and because it didn't flinch away from the hard aspects of Rose's life. Even though I could not even begin to say whether or not her portrayal of a young girl with Asperger’s syndrome and OCD, so...
    Personally, What I enjoyed about Rose's story would have to be how she never gave up; not on finding Rain or in doing the right thing even when in doing so should would be losing what she loves. She was such a strong character and I loved every aspect of her and her story. Rose will definitely be one of the most memorable characters for me this year.

In the end, I find that what I loved most about Rain Reign was, as you probably guessed, Rose's story and the strength she showed throughout the entire book. I really do think that Ann. M. Martin captured Rose's spirit so well in this book.

Final Verdict: Rain Reign- Rose's story both warmed and broke my heart. This will definitely be one of the most memorable books for me this year!

Rain Reign earns

This book was received in exchange for an honest review