Bitter-Sweet Coming of Age Novel!

Heartbreaking and beautiful beyond words, Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan is a delicately crafted stunning novel that tackles the issue of forgiveness and the healing power of words as it explores the bond that binds daughters and mothers.

For most people, Christmas is a time of joy and celebration – the most anticipated and eagerly-awaited day of the year. But for thirteen-year-old Apollinia Apostolopoulou (Apple), Christmas is a sad reminder of the saddest event in her life. Her mother ran off to New York to be on Broadway on Christmas’ eve, without once thinking about the child she’d left behind and never came back. Christmas means tears and unfulfilled longings for her mother’s hugs. In time, she hates Christmas season as intensely as she hopes for the return of her mother.

For eleven long years Apple lives under the watchful eyes of her Nana. Her dad remarried, a woman named Trish. It was a wedding in which the photos showed Apple sticking out her tongue and rolling her eyes back, even pretending to be crying – ruining every one of them. Years keep rolling by until one day when Apple’s mother appears. When she moves in with her mother, it is different from the life she had known all along. She has to live with her half-sister Rain who is ten years old. Rain carries around a doll which she believes is real. Apple has to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of her sister when her mother is away, which is becoming more frequent with each passing day. Apple is reduced to being a mere babysitter, so different from the life she thought she would live if her mother returns.

Delightful, heartbreaking yet hopeful, Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan is a story of love, loss, life and the hope for a better tomorrow in the midst of today’s struggles. It is a coming-of-age story about two little sisters, the bond they established in the absence of their mother, and their relationship with their mother who has misplaced priorities. I’m just curious what would Apple’s life be like if she were a real person!

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