A Year Without Rain

Since her mother's death, twelve-year-old Rachel has grievedsilently - there's simply no time to mourn on the harsh late nineteenth century plains. When a brutal drought shows no signs of letting up, Rachel's father does the only thing he can think of - he sends Rachel and her little brother John to stay with their mother's sister in Savannah, Georgia. When he finally comes to bring them home, he announces that he plans to marry the local schoolteacher. Rachel refuses to accept her future stepmother, setting into motion a chain of events that nearly ends in tragedy. Now it is up to Rachel to earn her father's forgiveness and let go of her grief. I highly reccomend this poignant novel. Although it is set a little over a hundred years ago, the feelings in it are as real now as they were then.