Review: Rain Song by Alice J. Wisler

About the Book: Nicole Michelin avoids airplanes, motorcycles, and most of all, Japan, where her parents once were missionaries. Something happened in Japan...something that sent Nicole and her father back to America alone...something of which Nicole knows only bits and pieces. But she is content with life in little Mount Olive, North Carolina, with her quirky relatives, tank of lively fish, and plenty of homemade pineapple chutney. Through her online column for the Pretty Fishy Web site, she meets Harrison Michaels, who, much to her dismay, lives in Japan. She attempts to avoid him, but his emails tug at her heart. Then Harrison reveals that he knew her as a child in Japan. In fact, he knows more about her childhood than she does.

My Review: I really wanted to like this book. It seemed to have all the right elements...a mysterious past, Japan, quirky relatives. But for some reason it just didn't work for me.

It moved really slowly for me and in such a somber tone, I never really developed the proper empathy for Nicole. Having said that, there were some touching bits in particular Nicole's relationship with Ducee, her grandmother, was very sweet. But I was never able to fully understand Nicole's hesitation or feel her fear and therefore could not understand her hesitation.

I did enjoy the little bits about Japan and I also enjoyed the child character of Monet. But I think the book and story could have benefited from a few pages and some more background on Nicole's fears.

This wasn't a hit for me, but be sure to check it out for yourself.