The Rain Watcher

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay    240 pages

Most readers will recognize de Rosnay as the author behind “Sarah’s Key,” which ranks right up with “Rebecca” as haunting stories that stick with readers for years after they were first read. The four novels that came after “Sarah’s Key,” never afforded de Rosany the same success. Now  four years after her last novel, that bestselling success is so close, yet so far away.

Set in contemporary times, “The Rain Watcher” takes place in Paris. The Malegarde family has come together to celebrate parents’ Lauren and Paul’s fortieth wedding anniversary as well as Paul’s seventieth birthday.  Lauren is an American by birth, Paul is French, They have two children, Tilia who is caught up in an unhappy marriage and resides in France. Linden is an internationally known photographer and calls San Francisco home.

It’s been raining in Paris for weeks and the Seine is rapidly rising. The waters are expected to rising well above the historic flooding of 1910. As the Seine rises, so does the tension. Each of the four characters has secrets they are hiding. The family, already partially estranged, is at a breaking point. When illnesses strike, the family must learn to let go. It’s a hard lesson for those involved.

Most of the writing was beautiful. De Rosany did a wonderful job in describing the flood waters and the rain. Every time they were mentioned, virtually on every page, a new image seemed to present itself.  Kudos for that.

On the down side, de Rosnay provides readers with an agonizing detail of the Paris streets and androissments. It would have help had there been a map on the inside front and back covers. I felt lost when she began naming streets and neighborhoods that I had no concept of location. I don’t believe that de Rosnay writing for an international audience…or at least am American one. The overload of French words also got in the way.

Still the beauty of the writing, sans the above problems, help me give “The Rain Watcher” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. I wanted so bad for this to be a novel that would capture my soul the way “Sarah’s Key” did, but---heavy sigh---it just didn’t happen.

Patina

Patina by Jason Reynolds, 233 pages

“Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team--a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Patina, or Patty, runs like a flash. She runs for many reasons--to escape the taunts from the kids at the fancy-schmancy new school she's been sent to since she and her little sister had to stop living with their mom. She runs from the reason WHY she's not able to live with her "real" mom any more: her mom has The Sugar, and Patty is terrified that the disease that took her mom's legs will one day take her away forever. So Patty's also running for her mom, who can't. But can you ever really run away from any of this? As the stress builds up, it's building up a pretty bad attitude as well. Coach won't tolerate bad attitude. No day, no way. And now he wants Patty to run relay...where you have to depend on other people? How's she going to do THAT?”  I like this series but I really hate how they end.  However, this is a great series for kids who like realistic fiction, especially those that also like sports.