Rules of Rain

October 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Aspiring chef Rain schedules her life around her twin brother Ethan who has autism. Every day she prepares gluten-free, dairy-free foods to alleviate his symptoms and goes running with him at exactly 4:00 am. Romance disrupts their strict routines when Rain starts dating her cute lab partner, Liam, and Rain's best friend Hope takes an interest in Ethan. As Ethan spends more time with Hope and pursues his dream of becoming a surgeon, he pulls away from his sister. Rain, who has planned her entire future around her brother, must learn to let go of him as he slowly gains independence. Uncertain about her own aspirations, she considers joining Liam in a community service program after graduation. She is also trying to repair her relationship with her estranged father and cope with her mother's health issues. Meanwhile, Ethan learns to empathize with others and to accept affection from Hope. Although the novel tackles chronic illness, bullying, unwanted pregnancy, divorce, and sexual identity, it includes funny moments that balance out these heavier issues. Nothing in the author's acknowledgements indicates how much research was done or Scheier's personal experience with regards to autism. However, the characters feel well rounded and nuanced. VERDICT Give this to teens who enjoy coming-of-age novels with sympathetic characters. An additional purchase.-Amy Duffy, Chicago Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2017
As her controlled world begins fraying apart, the brother that Rain has taken care of most of her life becomes the support she needs most.White, Jewish, 16-year-old Rain Rosenblatt made rules for herself a long time ago. Some of them have to do with her autistic twin brother Ethan's needs, for which she is almost solely responsible, and some of them have to do with herself, her dreams, and the tight lid she keeps on them. Rain knows the important role she plays--reliable anchor for her divorced mother and her brother--a role that doesn't leave room for the unpredictable. So she is not quite prepared when her school crush is requited and a new romance starts, when her usually isolated brother begins a relationship with her best friend, and especially when one night and one mistake throw life into chaos. The first-person narration punctuated by Rain's cooking-blog posts and Ethan's journal entries pulses with emotion as Rain tries to adjust to the changes in her life, and it crescendos to a frenetic cadence when her life itself is in danger. While Scheier's narrative features but doesn't center neurodivergence and is shot through with the barbs of stigma, breaking little new ground, Rain's realization that she has always needed her brother as much as he's needed her prioritizes Ethan's validation alongside Rain's growth. Refreshingly thoughtful character development in a familiar package. (recipes) (Fiction. 14-17)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Rain, 16, has organized her life around her autistic twin, Ethan. The pair live in Montana with their mother. Rain occupies herself with her food blog, concocts gluten-free recipesnot that anyone in the family needs to be gluten-freeand daydreams about Liam, the boy on whom she has an enormous crush. She has set her sights low, resigned to living at home and commuting to a local college so she can take care of Ethan, as she always has. When Liam becomes her boyfriend, Rain has become so acclimated to a self-restricted environment that going out with Liam is like a gasp of freedom, which leads to actions she regrets. But Ethan is not as dependent on Rain as she thinks. Thus, when Rain has a crisis, Ethan is the one who comes to her rescue. Rain's first-person narrative is cheerful and thoughtful, and the relationships among the characters are realistic and nicely drawn; no one is too perfect to be believed. The real truth is that sometimes even the best rules must be broken.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)