Book Review #51: When the Rain Falls by Sasha A. Linderson

Hello Dear Reader!

Welcome to my first book review in a while… again. That 20 books read goal for this year is slowly becoming less possible for me to reach, but I am determined! I am also determined to get back on a near-daily reading schedule, which I am unfortunately still working on.

Anyway, I’ve got an indie read by Sasha A. Linderson, which is a name that represents the two co-authors of When the Rain Falls. I’ve been on their Dear Writer podcast twice, and they are absolutely wonderful people! I also got the chance to read this book, their debut book, so before I get into it, here is the back-cover summary (from Goodreads):

"The soldiers came with the storm. Our people didn’t stand a chance. But we were lucky."

Under darkening skies, a group of teens must fight to survive a war no one saw coming. Their families are taken. The citizens, imprisoned. As they hide in the thick native bush they begin to realize they’re alone—no help is coming.

In their never-ending struggle for freedom, one question remains:

Who started this war?

They must discover the truth before war’s fingers reach farther afield.

End synopsis! Time for the review!

When the Rain Falls is told by a group of teens living in dystopian New Zealand who get caught up in the horrors of the beginnings of a war within their country. Our four initial teens are Levi, his best friend Dylan, the mature and level-headed Grace, and the hot-tempered Lizzie. Joining them are characters who are introduced later on in the story, such as Leah, Jess, and Jennifer. Now, whether or not they all make it to the end of this book… I’ll leave that up to you reading it for yourself if you decide to after this review.

But yes, this group of teens unfortunately find themselves surviving the best they can in the forests of New Zealand, far away enough from civilization to avoid the eyes of the soldiers, but close enough to salvage food and other supplies in order to keep themselves alive. This book showcases the difficulty of staying together and surviving in the wild and showing the consequences of taking certain risks. If I were to say more of what happens within this book, I’d be giving away major spoilers, so I’ll stop there. Same speaks with the various settings within this story. If I say anything about them, there will definitely be major spoilers.

But that aside, this group of survivors are full of differing personalities. For example, Levi is definitely one of the more level-headed ones of the group, and he’s a major asset as his father was a soldier and trained him on how to use a gun. Dylan, while the goofier of the two, is extremely reliable and is also able to keep a cool head in a tough situation. Grace is the most mature of everyone in the group, and while she is one of the quiet ones, she knows what to say and when she needs to say it. Finally, among the four original teens is Lizzie, who is a sweet girl with a hot temper you don’t want to mess with. With characters like these, I think anyone would be able to find a favorite among them. My personal favorites are Levi and Grace.

While these characters are distinct in their purposes in surviving and how far they’re willing to go to make a difference in such an awful situation, they all experience some character growth to a degree. Some go through more than others, but it was fascinating to read how the war affected each and every one of them.

The characters were definitely my favorite part of this book; however, I’m really sad to say that I don’t think this was the book for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected, and it’s probably because of personal preference, since I don’t usually read books like these. I did have a few thoughts about the plot though, I will admit. In my personal opinion, it gets a bit unrealistic with the twists, where these teens end up and how they get there, but I guess anything can happen in a more dystopian version of our world where there are civil wars going on.

Still, it was fun getting inside the minds of each of these characters and learning of their personal motivations for staying alive and fighting through a dark time. So, if that’s something you like in your books, this just might be for you.

So, When the Rain Falls rating:

2.75/5 and curious as to what’s gonna happen in the next installment of this serious. If you enjoy stories where teens do the unthinkable and brave the grave situations they find themselves in, this just might be the book for you. It’s definitely an interesting read, and if you like books where people find themselves surviving in times of war, check it out! You might like it.

Thanks for reading!