maple_dove's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is quite relaxing and most certainly oriented towards middle schoolers, which is maybe why I didn't enjoy it all that much.
Rain is an American Indian who picks up photography again after her friend and crush, Galen, dies to due to a car collision.
I really appreciated the character development in Rain. She matures by the end of the book and realizes her feelings sometimes blinds her to the truth.
This book also comments on anti-Indigenous racism as well as other forms of bigotry (briefly), like antisemitism and anti-Black racism.
Rain is an American Indian who picks up photography again after her friend and crush, Galen, dies to due to a car collision.
I really appreciated the character development in Rain. She matures by the end of the book and realizes her feelings sometimes blinds her to the truth.
This book also comments on anti-Indigenous racism as well as other forms of bigotry (briefly), like antisemitism and anti-Black racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Grief and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Antisemitism
Car collision (minor)andrewhatesham's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.75
Sadly, this was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't think the plot or writing was very good. I can't tell if it's meant to be YA or Middlegrade (on TSG it's marked as children's and YA?) because the writing style and pacing feels very juvenile, but the main character is a 14/15yo, and there are a few things in it that I felt push the boundaries of a middlegrade book. Yet the overall plot felt immature.
Another thing that confused me is the time period, it felt like historical fiction (90s), but then they mention phones and texting. There's an author's note at the end and it turns out, the book was originally released in 2001, but this is a new version with tweaks to make it more modern. It says you wouldn't notice even if you've read the original, but it still felt a little off to me, as a new reader.
That being said, I wouldn't NOT recommend this. It just didn't click with me. If my expectations were set in a different way, I might have liked it more. But it happened that I fully expected it to be a book for a much younger audience and I was wrong.
Another thing that confused me is the time period, it felt like historical fiction (90s), but then they mention phones and texting. There's an author's note at the end and it turns out, the book was originally released in 2001, but this is a new version with tweaks to make it more modern. It says you wouldn't notice even if you've read the original, but it still felt a little off to me, as a new reader.
That being said, I wouldn't NOT recommend this. It just didn't click with me. If my expectations were set in a different way, I might have liked it more. But it happened that I fully expected it to be a book for a much younger audience and I was wrong.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Car accident, Grief, Pregnancy, and Racism
melhara's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
1.5
This book starts off interesting - Rain's best friend, whom she had a crush on, dies suddenly. And so she has to cope with her loss while working as a photographer for her town newspaper, taking pictures of the controversial Indian Camp.
Unfortunately, everything about this book fell flat for me. The characters were uninteresting and the plot was all over the place.
My biggest issue with the audiobook was that the narrator lacked emotion. But maybe that's not the narrator's fault and more of the author's doing as the characters lacked emotional depth coupled with an incredibly slow-moving and boring plot. There was also too much going on (far too many subplots) but at the same time, nothing much was happening either... This is very much a character-driven story with an incredibly dull character, making it extremely difficult for me to feel invested in Rain or her struggles with grief and her identity (which were themes that weren't fully fleshed out, IMO).
Although the main character is entering high school, the writing style is very juvenile and seems to be catered toward a much younger, middle-grade audience.
Unfortunately, everything about this book fell flat for me. The characters were uninteresting and the plot was all over the place.
My biggest issue with the audiobook was that the narrator lacked emotion. But maybe that's not the narrator's fault and more of the author's doing as the characters lacked emotional depth coupled with an incredibly slow-moving and boring plot. There was also too much going on (far too many subplots) but at the same time, nothing much was happening either... This is very much a character-driven story with an incredibly dull character, making it extremely difficult for me to feel invested in Rain or her struggles with grief and her identity (which were themes that weren't fully fleshed out, IMO).
Although the main character is entering high school, the writing style is very juvenile and seems to be catered toward a much younger, middle-grade audience.
pagesofpins's review against another edition
4.0
Cassidy Rain Berghoff loves Chinese food, Star Trek and X-Files fan fiction, her dog and photography. She's a fully realized character, and it doesn't feel like I'm reading a flat stereotype, or even a "minority issues" book. I think tweens will really enjoy the story. Rain is part Native American on both her mom and dad's side, but her dad is deployed and her mom died six years ago. She was just starting to think about her best friend, Galen Owens, as more than a friend six months ago, when they sneaked out together to hang out the night of the school dance. He got hit by a car and killed that night, and six months later the book opens as Rain is still trying to process grief and guilt.
Rain is dodging friends and holing up in her room, avoiding talking to people about Galen's death, when Galen's mom decides to channel her grief into running for office. She does so by challenging the use of public funds used for Rain's Aunt Georgia's Indian Camp, hoping to make the mayor look stupid and get votes. Her argument? It serves so few kids, and even Rain is blowing it off--why waste our money? Not only is Rain caught in an awkward position, but her brother and his girlfriend are now pregnant and unmarried, and it's about to cause a stir in her small Kansas town.
Rain diplomatically picks up her camera again to cover Indian Camp for the newspaper. There are a lot of misconceptions and microagressions covered here: Rain tries to hand out photo releases, and someone asks if its because Indians believe the camera captures their soul. People often remark that Rain "doesn't look Indian" or ask why her hair and eyes aren't darker, or explain to her what Native Americans prefer. Then the book takes it a step further: Rain starts to see problematic behaviors in herself when she spends time with other minorities, such as her black classmate or Jewish coworker. She discovers prejudice several places in her hometown throughout the book, and not all of these things are perfectly resolved. Rain doesn't change anyone else, but she does change herself, and stand up for herself. She's no longer alone at the end of the book, either--she discovers some things about her friends, too.
Rain is dodging friends and holing up in her room, avoiding talking to people about Galen's death, when Galen's mom decides to channel her grief into running for office. She does so by challenging the use of public funds used for Rain's Aunt Georgia's Indian Camp, hoping to make the mayor look stupid and get votes. Her argument? It serves so few kids, and even Rain is blowing it off--why waste our money? Not only is Rain caught in an awkward position, but her brother and his girlfriend are now pregnant and unmarried, and it's about to cause a stir in her small Kansas town.
Rain diplomatically picks up her camera again to cover Indian Camp for the newspaper. There are a lot of misconceptions and microagressions covered here: Rain tries to hand out photo releases, and someone asks if its because Indians believe the camera captures their soul. People often remark that Rain "doesn't look Indian" or ask why her hair and eyes aren't darker, or explain to her what Native Americans prefer. Then the book takes it a step further: Rain starts to see problematic behaviors in herself when she spends time with other minorities, such as her black classmate or Jewish coworker. She discovers prejudice several places in her hometown throughout the book, and not all of these things are perfectly resolved. Rain doesn't change anyone else, but she does change herself, and stand up for herself. She's no longer alone at the end of the book, either--she discovers some things about her friends, too.
lovegirl30's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted at The Young Girl Who Loved Books.
I have been trying to read more Own Voices story. I was so excited about this book. In a world where there are a million different children and middle-grade novels, it is amazing to me that we have almost no contemporary Native American books. It is very rare that a Native American novel isn't problematic so I went into this both excited as well as very weary. This book blew me away. Cynthia Leitich Smith is a wonderful storyteller and created one of the best middle-grade novels I have read in a long time.
The book follows the cute character of Cassidy Rain Berghoff. She is a very relatable girl and I feel like most kids will be able to relate to her on some level. She just seemed real, she had real emotions. She was just dealing with life and trying to figure out what her purpose was here. She had hard times but she got through them. She showed real growth throughout this small book.
This book tackles some pretty serious issues. It does this flawlessly and with so much grace. As the story unfolds we learn that Rain (Cassidy) is dealing with some pretty serious grief. She has lost both her mother and her best friend Galen's death. Her friend Galen has just past away and it brings up that pain she experienced when her mother died a few years earlier. To make matters worse her father is stationed overseas and she misses him. Only being able to exchange letters and audio recordings. She feels as if she is drifting away from her family.
In the town that she lives everyone knows everything, and the women are catty and nosy. She is the minority here, and they don't seem to ever let her forget it. She is also trying to figure out where her heritage is going to take her. All this makes the book a beautiful coming of age story.
This is a great story about what it feels like to be culturally mixed in a white community. I think for readers that aren't native American reading this novel will expose you to various microaggressions, cultural biases, and blatant racism, and will be an eye-opening experience. Don't get me wrong though, this book is so much more than just a book about racism. This book is really about a girls journey to healing. It is about grief and acceptance. It's about going through life after the death of a close, maybe even best friend.
The only complaint I have about this book is that is pretty short, which makes things seem rushed at the end of the book. When a book is this short ( took me only three hours to read while watching a little one) you need to pack a bunch of detail and action into a few pages. This book just was boring in a few points which a book this short couldn't afford.
Overall this was such an amazing book.
I have been trying to read more Own Voices story. I was so excited about this book. In a world where there are a million different children and middle-grade novels, it is amazing to me that we have almost no contemporary Native American books. It is very rare that a Native American novel isn't problematic so I went into this both excited as well as very weary. This book blew me away. Cynthia Leitich Smith is a wonderful storyteller and created one of the best middle-grade novels I have read in a long time.
The book follows the cute character of Cassidy Rain Berghoff. She is a very relatable girl and I feel like most kids will be able to relate to her on some level. She just seemed real, she had real emotions. She was just dealing with life and trying to figure out what her purpose was here. She had hard times but she got through them. She showed real growth throughout this small book.
This book tackles some pretty serious issues. It does this flawlessly and with so much grace. As the story unfolds we learn that Rain (Cassidy) is dealing with some pretty serious grief. She has lost both her mother and her best friend Galen's death. Her friend Galen has just past away and it brings up that pain she experienced when her mother died a few years earlier. To make matters worse her father is stationed overseas and she misses him. Only being able to exchange letters and audio recordings. She feels as if she is drifting away from her family.
In the town that she lives everyone knows everything, and the women are catty and nosy. She is the minority here, and they don't seem to ever let her forget it. She is also trying to figure out where her heritage is going to take her. All this makes the book a beautiful coming of age story.
This is a great story about what it feels like to be culturally mixed in a white community. I think for readers that aren't native American reading this novel will expose you to various microaggressions, cultural biases, and blatant racism, and will be an eye-opening experience. Don't get me wrong though, this book is so much more than just a book about racism. This book is really about a girls journey to healing. It is about grief and acceptance. It's about going through life after the death of a close, maybe even best friend.
The only complaint I have about this book is that is pretty short, which makes things seem rushed at the end of the book. When a book is this short ( took me only three hours to read while watching a little one) you need to pack a bunch of detail and action into a few pages. This book just was boring in a few points which a book this short couldn't afford.
Overall this was such an amazing book.
megan_stine's review against another edition
4.0
Realistic and relatable story. Connects to Minnesota American Indians.
b_jud's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fictionfiend74's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kshertz's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was an extremely quick read and I really would’ve loved to know more about the characters and been able to get more invested in them. I felt like it gave me a good look into the life of this city and the people there but in the end I didn’t really understand exactly what happened. I didn’t really know what I was meant to be learning from the book in general.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death and Violence