Listening to the Rain
[d-ws13076]

4 of 5 Stars Listening to the Rain by Miriam Thor opens at a grandfather’s hospital bedside, but most of it takes place in the past when his three grandchildren, the book’s main characters, were in high school. It centers around the family’s turmoil when one of the teens has an accident, resulting in permanent life changes. Resources are given to him, but not to the family surrounding and supporting him. That struck me as interesting, and I wondered how prevalent that is in real life. Other sub-themes that rose out of this were school bullying and the legal obligations of providing accommodations to a student.

This is a YA story, and I was a little disconnected at the beginning with all the teen drama happening at school, even though it was important. However, once the crisis hit, the story drew me in, and I became deeply invested in all the characters. A couple of themes came out as they each processed the results of the accident in their own way: that bad things happen to good people and the importance of trusting in God’s sovereignty. It would have been easy for the author to go too deep with these, but they were handled in a very appropriate way for YA readers. The genre desperately needs more stories like this. DESPERATELY.

One of the most poignant lines in the book was after the accident, when the family didn’t know if their loved one would survive. At their circle prayer time, grandfather prayed, “Father, our prayers are too desperate for words tonight. Please hear our hearts instead.” The deep meaning of Romans 8:26 restated in YA-level language. Well done.

The significance of the title phrase “listening to the rain” was revealed near the end of the book in a most poignant way. I won’t spoil it for you. This is a quick read and one that was hard to put down. I hope we will see more from Miriam Thor.

And…bravo for the stunning cover!