Book Review: ‘Apple and Rain’
A book that can make you laugh and cry and can help you feel connected from one chapter to another can be the perfect example of a piece of writing that you want to revisit from time to time. Those are the books that make a part of your permanent collection – something you can also share with your friends and loved ones. The statement mentioned above correctly defines Sarah Crossan’s ‘Apple and Rain.’ This review introduces the central plot of this book and explains why it makes a great read.
About the Book
Apple and Rain is a 2014 piece of fiction work written by Sarah Crossan and published by Bloomsbury USA Children’s. The book shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2015 and the Children’s Book Award in 2016 in the “Books for Older Readers” category. It also nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Even though it is a youth fiction book, it has something for everyone to feel connected to it.
The Central Character
Apple, a young girl, is the central character of Apple and Rain. The story takes through an apparently troubled childhood of the character who has been raised by her grandmother after her mother left her when she was a baby. The book’s story takes you through her childhood toward a turning point where she makes a return into her life after more than a decade. Apple thinks that things would change forever, but do they?
Apple’s Life with Nana
Nana is Apple’s grandmother, who raised the girl when both her parents left her. Even the girl’s father left her and got married to a woman who also doesn’t care about her. Life with Nana is hard because she is among the harshest women you may have come across in a book. As Apple enters adolescence, living under the strict guardianship of her grandmother reaches a traumatic level.
As she enters adolescence, Apple feels that she is at the lowest point in her life. Her best friend at school is no longer with her because he is being won over by other girls. Her father announces that he and his wife are having a baby. All this happens at a point when Nana is already making the girl’s life increasingly difficult.
Apple’s Mother
It is at this stage in her life that Apple feels relieved to find her mother return in her life. Her mother returns and wants Apple to go and live with her, under her care. The girl couldn’t think of anything better at this stage in her life when she finds herself surrounded by the negatives on all sides. She agrees to move ahead and live with her mother even when her father and Nana are against it.
Is it a wise decision that Apple makes when she moves in with her mother? She soon finds out that her mother is not up to the task when it comes to taking care of her daughter. Aspiring to become an actress, she is still struggling with her career. Apple faces another challenge in the form of her second sibling, Rain. Rain is much older than Apple and has trouble accepting our protagonist in the family as she is too obsessed with being the only child in her home.
Apple’s Respite
When her mother reenters her life, Apple’s break from her hard life is only short-lived. She soon finds out that her mother doesn’t have what it takes to take care of her. Her relationship with her sibling also makes things sour. It is when she finds real respite in one of the unlikeliest of places – in poetry. She finds a new friend who helps her discover her talent in poetry, and this changes her life for good.
Apple and Rain is a lovely story where you get to feel the beauty of love and the pain of loneliness and disappointments. You get introduced to a story of unconditional love in the most unexpected situations. A girl who raise without her parents, hated and tormented by everyone, who moves from one hope to another only to be disappointed, eventually finds something soothing and life changing, this is one story that will bring tears to your eyes and yet make you feel enthralled and happier at different times.
A girl who is brought up in situations surrounded by so much oddity, it is easy to expect her to grow as a bitter girl. Every child deserves to be loved and cared for – something Apple never seems to get. She is not resentful to her parents or anyone else. As she grows into a lovely girl, hers is a beautiful story of hope, love and making a change in this world.
What does the Book Offer?
Apple and Rain takes you through the story of a little girl’s life as you discover some harsh realities faced by children who aren’t able to get the love they deserve. Almost everyone, of all age groups, will find it interesting. The story is perfectly woven, and Sarah has shown extraordinary prowess as an accomplished author. It is a piece of fiction, but it will certainly take you into the world that’s not far from reality.
The book is a beautiful piece of work. It touches on the different aspects of relationships. Most importantly it does inspire you to be hopeful and never fall in life to become bitter for what life throws at you. Apple, a child that has a right to her parent’s love – has a lot to teach us. She emerges out of her hardships and sets an example for everyone to follow. It may sound like a sad story initially, but it isn’t. It tells a disturbing story that offers lots of inspiration for everyone. The story becomes even more beautiful with the touch of poetry in just the right places. Everyone is a potential reader even though it is written keeping in mind the middle-grade readers.
______
This book review is provided by one of anonymous writers who works at CustomWritings.com – book review service
______
