Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Apple has one memory from her childhood, her mother leaving without a second glance. For eleven years, she lives with her Nana, dreaming about the day her mother will come back. When her mum arrives home unexpectedly, Apple expects everything to fall into place, but ends up feeling more lost and confused than ever before. When Apple goes to live with her mum, Apple realised she is not the doting mother she had hoped her to be. To make things even better, she walks into her new bedroom to find a 10 year old girl named ‘Rain’ who is her sister. Rain is even more lost than Apple, and things start to spiral out of control.

Not wanting to lose her mothers love and trust, Apple goes along with her shenanigans until it is too late...

Wow! This novel was beautiful, heart breaking and thought provoking. It is a really great example of the idea that ‘love is blind’ and how much children need to be loved and nurtured. Although the protagonist is 13, this is not a children’s book! Sarah Crossan handled the difficult themes and concepts with such grace and artistry. I devoured this book in a day as I couldn’t wait to read what happened next. I found myself worrying about the characters as I was so invested in their story!! An important element of this book is poetry, and I found the poems throughout beautiful and heartbreaking, which really added to the story. I rate this book four stars, and would highly recommend it!

“Poetry can teach us about ourselves. It can comfort us when we are in despair. It can bring joy. But not only that...it can open us up. It can make our worlds bigger and brighter and clearer. It can transform us"

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