Silver Rain

October 1, 2010

Elsie doesn't know what's worse: living in the garage with your mom, grandmother and uncle behind the house that used to be home or having your father abandon you. Then her mother and uncle also leave, supposedly for jobs. Her miserable situation is all because of the Depression, which is affecting families everywhere. Her best friend, Scout, who is going to be a newspaperman, helps her search for her dad. But when Rev. Hampton takes them to see the dance marathon to show how exploitative it is, clues begin to add up. The Canadian setting and dialogue establish context for the terms hoboes, shantytowns and the phrase, "could you spare a dime." Though today's readers won't be familiar with the Depression, dance marathons or references to Bing Crosby, cribbage and Eaton's catalog, the search for family and relationships in tough times rings true. The evocative title refers to the coins thrown at a favored dance couple. Once past the unappealing cover, readers will find an absorbing and perceptive story. (Historical fiction. 9-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2011

Gr 4-6-Set in Vancouver, BC, during the 1930s, this story of a family suffering through economic hardship will resonate with many of today's readers. Eleven-year-old Elsie's father left home shortly after losing his jewelry business to the bank. Elsie now lives in a garage with her mother, grandmother, and uncle; from there, she can see the house where they used to live. Things go from bad to worse when her mother and uncle leave, so Elsie feels it's up to her, along with her friend Scoop, an aspiring journalist, to bring the family back together. The exploitative and cruel dance marathons of that era play a role in the story, too, as does a clergyman with an active social conscience. Despite the grim plot elements, this is a story of hope, and it is smoothly written. The pace lags in spots, though. There's a truly arresting scene in which Elsie confronts a hobo who has taken her dog while she's visiting shantytown in search of her father, but at other times, readers may wish for more action. Still, this is well-researched historical fiction with a sympathetic main character, so larger collections will want to consider purchase.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2010
Grades 4-7 When her father disappears during the Depression, Elsie, 11, is stuck living in a garage behind what used to be her familys home in Vancouver. Then Mom takes off, saying she is going to help a dying friend. Elsies best pal, Scoop, gives her some support, but he is no sweet darling (Dont you blubber on me, hear?), and he has his own harsh secrets. In fact, Elsie is sick of secrets. As Grandma says, Of course life goes on. What else could it do? Terse, grim, and funny, the plainspoken narrative from Elsies viewpoint beautifully conveys a childs sense of the times, as her search for her father takes her from the rough local shantytown to the dance marathon, where people compete for days until they drop, just for the chance to earn a few dollars. The surprises are never melodramatic, even as they build to an ending that reveals what despair can force the desperate to do.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)