I enjoy reading books written from the perspective of kids with exceptionalities. When I read Sherry’s review of Ann M. Martin‘s newest book, Rain Reign, I knew I had to read it. Children with autism/high functioning autism/Asperger’s are one of my own niche reading interests, so Rose Howard, the main character in Rain Reign, fits the bill. She’s a fifth grader who lives alone with her father. Her dad works as a mechanic and spends most of his free time at the bar down the road, so Rose mostly takes care of herself. Were it not for her dog, Rain, and her Uncle Weldon, she really would be alone in the world. Rose loves prime numbers, homonyms, and rules; those are the things on which she focuses when she gets discombobulated or upset about something. When her beloved Rain is lost outside after a hurricane, Rose rises to the occasion and mounts an all-out search for her dog and finds her! The triumph is short-lived when the truth of Rain’s identity comes out and Rose has to make a decision which would be excruciating for any child and is perhaps even more so (at least from the reader’s viewpoint) when how little Rose actually has is realized. Another element in this story that really tugged my heartstrings is Rose’s relationship with her father. He simply hasn’t the patience/empathy/whatever to deal with her neurological and behavioral differences, and he stops just short (and by just I mean just) of being an abusive parent just like his own father. This really got to me. (What is it with these middle grade books and their dysfunctional families?!?!) The book ends as happily as it can, though, and I absolutely loved it. This one definitely rises to the top of the Cybils middle grade fiction heap for me among the books I’ve read so far. I love that Rose shows growth in the novel, though how realistic this is for an actual autistic child I cannot say. By the end of the novel Rose has a budding friendship with a girl in her class, and she even shows a bit of empathy:
I have thought of a triple homonym before, but I know this is not the time to mention it. Instead, this is the time for the feeling of friendliness. Since a friend would probably not say, “I already thought of that,” I grin at Parvani and exclaim, “That’s a great one!” I put enthusiasm in my voice. (185)
I do love that this book shows growth in Rose, but reading books like this one written from the supposed perspective of an autistic child always makes me wonder how realistic it is. I don’t know. All I know is that it’s a good, though heart-wrenching, story and I give it a Highly Recommended. (Macmillan, 2014)
Other books with autistic characters, linked to my reviews:
