If It Rains
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A story of resilience and redemption set against one of America’s defining moments—the Dust Bowl.
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wright's lovely debut centers on two sisters in Dust Bowl–era Oklahoma. In 1935, Melissa and Kathryn Baile break their close bond when Melissa marries into the wealthiest family in Boise City. Melissa immediately regrets her decision upon realizing her husband's expectation is to blend into her new station and sever ties with her family and former life of poverty. To cope, Melissa relies on prayer. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Kathryn, born with a clubfoot, reluctantly heads to Indianapolis with her father and stepmother, who has convinced Kathryn that her surgeon father will be able to repair the disability. After a dust storm separates all three, Kathryn relies on help from a few vagabonds as she tries to find her family. While Kathryn can come off as obnoxious, and the actions the outwardly pious Melissa takes to get revenge on her husband will frustrate some readers, the circumstances the Baile sisters face provide fertile ground for reflections on questioning one's faith. In the end, belief in God sees both sisters through difficult decisions to find their way back together. Wright's adept depiction of the times capture the grit of the Dust Bowl. Fans of Tracie Peterson should check this out.
