If It Rains

 Title: If It Rains

Author: Jennifer L. Wright

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Source: Net Galley

My Review:

If It Rains alternates between Kathryn and Melissa's point of view. These two sisters live very different lives, yet they both suffer from heartache and difficult situations.

"And what I remember is when the wind is angry and roaring and hell-bent on destroying you, there's a thin layer of quiet that covers you after you stop fighting and decide to let it. That was the kind of quiet filling my pa."

If It Rains is full of descriptive scenes. The writing is vivid and you can easily picture what is being described. The story portrays resilience in the midst of difficult circumstances. Both sisters have to show their strength in different ways and through trying situations, but they are both strong. The book appears to be well researched and true to the time period. In some ways this story is also about finding yourself and your faith.

"The whole world had gone mad. I had a beautiful home, fancy clothes, a full stomach...and still the rain refused to fall."

This book was difficult for me to read. I found it very slow and by halfway through I felt like nothing had happened. It was a very heavy read, which you expect from a story about the dust bowl, but there were no moments of humor and no lighter moments, everything was just heavy. This story was also heavy on descriptions, whereas I prefer a story to be heavy on dialogue and light on descriptions, or at least a balance between the two.

I would recommend this book to those who love historical fiction and don't mind a heavy read on an interesting topic.

Thank you to Net Galley and Tyndale House Publishers for the opportunity to read this novel. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

★★.5/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

It’s 1935 in Oklahoma, and lives are determined by the dust. Fourteen-year-old Kathryn Baile, a spitfire born with a severe clubfoot, is coming of age in desperate times. Once her beloved older sister marries, Kathryn’s only comfort comes in the well-worn pages of her favorite book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Then Kathryn’s father decides to relocate to Indianapolis, and only the promise of a surgery to finally make her “normal” convinces Kathryn to leave Oklahoma behind. But disaster strikes along the way, and Kathryn must rely on her grit and the ragged companions she meets on the road if she is to complete her journey.

Back in Boise City, Melissa Baile Mayfield is the newest member of the wealthiest family in all of Cimarron County. In spite of her poor, rural upbringing, Melissa has just married the town’s most eligible bachelor and is determined to be everything her husband—and her new social class—expects her to be. But as the drought tightens its grip, Henry’s true colors are revealed. Melissa covers her bruises with expensive new makeup and struggles to reconcile her affluent life with that of her starving neighbors. Haunted by the injustice and broken by Henry’s refusal to help, Melissa secretly defies her husband, risking her life to follow God’s leading.

Two sisters, struggling against unspeakable hardship, discover that even in their darkest times, they are still united in spirit, and God is still with them, drawing them home.