Apple and Rain

by Sarah Crossan

Overview

When Apple's mother returns after eleven years of absence, Apple feels almost whole again. In order to heal completely, her mother will have to answer one burning question: Why did she abandon her? But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother's homecoming is bittersweet. It's only when Apple meets her younger sister, Rain-someone more lost than she is- that she begins to see things for how they really are, allowing Apple to discover something that might help her to feel truly whole again.

From the author of the acclaimed The Weight of Water comes a beautifully-crafted, moving novel about family, betrayal, and the ultimate path to healing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619636910
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	05/12/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	13 Years

About the Author

Sarah Crossan is the author of The Weight of Water, which was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, as well as Breathe and Resist. She grew up in Ireland and England, taught English in the United States, and now lives in Hertfordshire, England.

www.sarahcrossan.com
@SarahCrossan
Facebook/Sarah-Crossan
Sarah Crossan grew up in Dublin and London. Her books for children and teenagers have won many prizes including the prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal, the CBI Book of the Year, the YA Book Prize, and the CLiPPA Poetry Award.

Her first novel for adults, Here Is The Beehive, was published in 2020 to critical acclaim, and was shortlisted for Popular Fiction Book of the Year in the AN Post Irish Book Awards

Sarah's novels have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She currently lives and works in East Sussex.

Editorial Reviews

04/06/2015
What happens when you get the thing you’ve longed for, but not the way you pictured it? Apple Apostolopoulou has spent the last 11 years imagining her mother returning to the small English town where 14-year-old Apple lives with her grandmother. And then her mother reappears. Apple leaps at the chance to move back in with her mother, who is young and pretty, doesn’t scold or forbid, and understands how abandoned Apple feels. Then Apple meets a previously unknown sister, 10-year-old Rain, who has a doll she believes is a real baby. At first needy Rain is an annoyance, but the more time the girls spend together—usually because Apple is stuck babysitting Rain while their feckless mother is out—the closer they get. Crossan (The Weight of Water) capably portrays Apple’s mixed loyalties, the way writing poetry helps her admit her real feelings, and her burgeoning romance with a sweet and sensible classmate, Del. The ending, in which multiple dangers arise and are averted, is overly tidy, but readers, especially younger ones, will cheer for Apple and Rain. Ages 13–up. Agent: Julia Churchill, A.M. Heath. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Readers . . . will cheer for Apple and Rain.” —Publishers Weekly

“[The] story is involving, and Apple and Rain are engaging, sympathetic characters. This one is for readers who dote on happy endings.” —Booklist

“Most characters, including Nana and Rain, are compassionately drawn. . . . A realistic . . . tale about growing up and parenting.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Crossan's ear is flawless in capturing the cries of a young girl's heart.” —BCCB

“The story will be reassuring for those readers who are in similar situations, especially when Apple learns of the strength she possesses, but was not aware of, until she had to be.” —VOYA

“This is a wrenching but hopeful story of displacement, loneliness, and survival. . . . Crossan's verse packs a punch as she examines the power that difference—but also determination—can wield.” —starred review, Publishers Weekly on THE WEIGHT OF WATER

“Narrating in image-rich free verse that packs an emotional punch, Kasienka describes what life is like for a new arrival while also exploring universal themes. . . . Memorable.” —Kirkus Reviews on THE WEIGHT OF WATER

“Graceful, effortless verse. . . . A sweet, well-paced tale [with] a silver lining.” —School Library Journal on THE WEIGHT OF WATER

“A powerful coming-of-age novel about family and discovering how to be true to yourself that is well worth reading.” —Booklist on THE WEIGHT OF WATER

From the Publisher

04/01/2015
Gr 7–10—British teen Apple Apostolopoulou has been raised by her grandmother after her mother went off to America 11 years ago to try to make it as an actress. Thankfully, there's never been any question about living with her father and his wife Trish, whom 13-year-old Apple can't stand. But it drives Apple crazy that her grandmother keeps such a tight rein on her, making her attend church every Sunday, picking her up from school every day, and not allowing her to hang out with the girls from her class. So when Annie returns and asks Apple to live with her, Apple eagerly agrees, hoping to discover the truth about why her mother left without her. But things don't turn out the way she expects; she discovers that her mother doesn't live alone. Apple has a sister named Rain, and Annie can't look after herself, let alone her two daughters. The protagonist's pride keeps her from asking for help, until Annie disappears for two days. This is an enjoyable YA novel, but a lack of character motivation and development make it less appealing to more seasoned readers. VERDICT A charming, but additional story, suitable for younger teens.—Marlyn Beebe, Long Beach Public Library, Los Alamitos, CA

School Library Journal

2015-02-16
Apple's got plenty to contend with: her best friend's deserted her, the boy she's attracted to barely knows she exists, and her overprotective Nana is a source of embarrassment at school—but what hurts most is her glamorous mother's abandonment 11 years ago. At first, her mother's unexpected return feels like a dream come true, but Apple's euphoria fades when she realizes Mum didn't return to rescue her but to be rescued herself from having to raise her younger daughter, Rain, 10, whose existence is a surprise to Apple and Nana, Mum's mother. Apple, 14, suppresses her doubts when she's invited to move in with Mum and Rain—the prospect trumps life with Nana. At least Mum won't insist on driving Apple to school. Instead, Mum urges alcohol on Apple and her classmates, flirts with Apple's crush, and disappears for days at a time, leaving Apple to skip school and care for troubled Rain. Her English teacher's poetry assignments encourage Apple, a budding writer, to examine and express her complicated feelings, giving rise to important insights. Her friendship with a new classmate, Del, is a further support. Appealing but naïve, Apple feels more preteen than teen. Most characters, including Nana and Rain, are compassionately drawn—the exception is Mum, whose monstrous narcissism goes far beyond anything Nana's self-confessed strict parenting can explain. A realistic if gently didactic tale about growing up and parenting. (Fiction. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews