Rain Remembers

Comrie, Courtnee. Rain Remembers (Rain #2)

October 24, 2023 by HarperCollins

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this sequel to Rain Rising, Rain is starting ninth grade while her brother Xander has gone away to college. They are both still dealing with the effects a racially motivated beating had on both of them, although they are both in counseling and trying to process their trauma. Rain is very anxious about starting a new school, especially since she no longer has the support of her friend Nara or her Circle Group. She does still have her friend Amare, who is in her dance group at church, and she has also been noticed by a sophomore, Tommy. Tommy's actions are a little confusing; he's a popular sports guy, and he is making overtures to Rain, telling her that she is beautiful and that he wants to spend time with her. Sometimes, though, he won't even make eye contact with her in the hallway. The two text, meet at the mall, and spend a decent amount of time together before he asks her over to his house after school. Since she doesn't believe her good luck, Rain hasn't told any of her friends or family about Tommy, but is a bit uncomfortable about his invitation. She has good reason to be, and Tommy shows his true colors, although Rain is very fortunate that nothing serious occurs. Still, this alarms her enough that she finally talks to her new counselor, who tells her that she has to start trusting other people with her emotions and ask them for help. There are other issues going on in Rain's life; her parents are divorced, but she doesn't want to talk to her father. Her mother is very stressed, but has recently started counseling. Alyssa uncle has been detained by immgration officials; he's a DREAMER and is struggling to stay in the country he has called home since he was eight. Friend Umi is glad to help Rain set up a Circle Group at the high school, and she is fortunate enough to find a teacher who not only will be their supervisor, but who is good at providing snacks. High school isn't as bad as Rain thought, and with the help of her friends, she thinks that she can not only survive high school, but thrive by helping others thrive as well. 
Strengths: Since this is a novel in verse, it is on the shorter side, and I loved that Rain was starting high school. There are so many books about 5th graders, and 6th-8th graders really do NOT want to read about elementary school students! Rain's anxiety is very common now, and it's helpful to read about her ways to cope with it, as well as seeing her feelings of inadequacy about how she looks, etc. I thought it was particularly interesting how her friend group seemed to change a bit, because this certainly looms large in the middle school experience. I knew right away that Tommy was not a good person for her to see, but it's a good lesson for readers to watch as he toys with her affections. There are just enough dynamics playing out with the mother, father, and Xander to add some depth to Rain's characters and experiences. I think this will be a popular title with readers who enjoyed the work of Paula Chase, Laurie Morrison, Renee Watson, and Tanita Davis, since all of those books blend realistic stories about older characters with problems in a way that is understandable to middle school students. 
Weaknesses: I didn't remember reading the first book, so kept waiting to find out what had happened to Xander, since Rain and Xander acknowledge that something happened but don't talk about it. 
What I really think: This book would be a great choice for 8th graders who want to read a little bit about high school but aren't really ready for YA books with a lot of colorful language or instructional situations. I think Rain Rising must have been back ordered and didn't come last year, so I'll have to make sure to reorder it when I buy this title.