[Review] Cinnamon Rain by Emma Cameron

Add to Goodreads

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 12/02/2012

Publisher: Walker Books
Pages: 408

Source: Bought
Genre: YA (14+) - Contemporary

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Sick Puppies - Asshole Father, What Are You Looking For, All the Same ♪

My Rating: 

Poignant

My thoughts

Released in US: 05/2013

I don't think I have many thoughts on this book; it was a quick read (as it's a verse novel), focusing on three teenagers who each deal with their own demons and overcome them. In the end, just as the tagline suggests, we find out whether friendship can still remain when so much has happened for each person. Naturally the subject matter is quite poignant and I felt that Cameron addressed it well and with sensitivity.


The story is told in three perspectives: Luke, unsure of where his future will take him and worried for Casey; Casey, whose negligent father makes it difficult for her to stay home; and Bongo, who just wants his family back the way it used to be.

The main drawback for verse novels is that you sometimes don't see the full essence of the characters, you might not truly get to know them as a fully-fleshed out character that you might see in a full-length novel in prose. I didn't end up loving any of these characters, but I could empathise with him, feel their pain and confusion, indecision, grief, anxiety... their need for change. I don't think I needed to love them to GET them.

I think the decision to write this story in verse and in multiple perspectives was very clever. It suited the subject matter, themes and story perfectly. The writing was fluid and was composed nicely across the pages.

Cinnamon Rain also deals with homelessness and drug addiction, sex and teenage pregnancy, domestic violence and adoption. Family, love, belonging, finding oneself, the future - what comes after high school, friendship... What should have been a really difficult book to read wasn't all that bad; Cameron doesn't shove it all in your face at once, but rather allows you time to simmer with all of these ideas and issues floating around while the story progresses. It's a thought-provoking read, definitely. I didn't LOVE this book, but I wasn't expecting to. I got exactly what I wanted out of it--a quick read that tackles difficult issues in a realistic and sensitive manner.

Quotes

First lines: "A cave on Pebble Beach,
a bike ride from ho,e,
where the sting of salt air
tears away the built-up wondering
of what to do -
on the last day of holidays,
about Casey,
with my life."

Favourite quotes:

"That's her life.
So much
nothing.
I think,
if Casey lived
in another time or place
she'd be like a fountain--
bubbles reaching everyone around her.
Instead,
she's as still
as a leaf-littered pond,
dark water evaporating,
waiting desperately for rain. (55)

Buy

AUSTRALIA: A&R | Readings | BookWorld

INTERNATIONAL: Fishpond | Book Depository

All opinions written here are entirely my own. No one paid me to read this book!