Apple and Rain Review

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan  

“I saved up my hopes, Like little pennies in a jar.” 

This review contains spoilers

Apple and Rain is essentially a story of change and what neglect can do to a person.  Apple has waited for her mother to come back since the day she left; to come and take her away from her strict Nan and then one day she does. And everything is perfect; her mum takes her shopping, invites her crush to their party and most importantly her mother is finally there for her. Though there is the case with Rain, her sister who she never met until now and Rain’s not exactly normal.  

Apple has always looked up to her mum because she never knew her and because her Nan is over protective. After her Nan hinders her chance at being popular and being the reason to her losing her friend, her mum comes and saves her from total embarrassment and Apple starts to idolise her mum. She protects her mum with lying and skipping school till the point it comes naturally to her and she can’t reach out to others to help her.

Apple is thirteen but she’s quite naïve in the beginning; she views her Nan as the bad person for not welcoming her mum, Del the boy next door is seen as a weird kid who she’s embarrassed to be seen with, Pilar is her safe/secure best friend and Mr Gaydon is an unusual teacher. Apple has to learn quickly that there are people who are close to you that will leave you because their selfish and others who will help them because they care.

An aspect of this story that I really liked was the Poetry, it was really important to Apple and it was the only way she couldn’t lie to herself. She wrote poems on what was going on in her life even if she didn’t want to admit it out loud.

Then there’s Rain, the unwanted child. Rain uses Jenny as her cry for help, to make her mother notice her. She wanted to have a mother who treated her like she treated Jenny and yet there was no one there for her.

In the second half of the book there was this tension building and it was shown through the stress put upon Apple and her covering up for her mum. And when things do explode Apple has no one to turn to but Del, the amount of pressure put on two thirteen year olds.

One thing I really loved was Del, he was so optimistic and sweet and just what Apple and Rain needed.

★★★★☆