Review ~ The Boy Who Loved Rain by Gerard Kelly.

Title: The Boy Who Loved Rain.
Author: Gerard Kelly.
Publisher: Lion Fiction.
Publication Date: November 21, 2014.
Source: Lovereading/Review copy.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Purchase: Amazon UK

Colom had the perfect childhood – the much-loved only child of a highly respected church pastor and parenting mentor. Yet he wakes screaming from recurring dreams in which his sister is drowning and he can’t save her.

Gradually Colom withdraws from his family and friends – sullen and non-communicative one moment, angry and lashing out the next. Desperate to help their son, his mother Fiona turns to her husband for support. But David will not accept that outside help is needed.

Then a close school friend of Colom’s hangs himself. And they find Colom’s own suicide pledge, hidden neatly away in his room.

In panic, Fiona takes Colom and flees, turning to Miriam, an old friend, for guidance and seeking refuge with her in France. But Miriam has secrets of her own. What revelations will come to light under the blue skies of Portivy – and will they come in time to save Colom from self-destruction?

The Boy Who Loved Rain told the beautiful, unusual story of Colom, a teenager who is suffering from dreams he can’t understand and secrets he feels are there but has no knowledge of. I found this to be a really moving, unpredictable story and I was captivated by Gerard Kelly’s emotive writing.

Each chapter begins with a quote or a definition of rain, which I found really fascinating. Rain was a mysterious underlying theme in the novel, one that had me hooked trying to work it out. There were some parts of this book that I felt could have been explored a bit more, but the portrayal of rain was stunning and captured the essence of the story strongly.

The character development was well done – I thought Colom especially felt realistic and though we’re unaware of the course of events that have turned him into who he is, he still showed signs of a teenage boy who isn’t confronted by confusing dreams and scary thoughts. I almost felt the need to protect him and was fascinated and hopeful that he would discover more about himself in order to live a comfortable life.

The Boy Who Loved Rain was such a thought-provoking novel, with a deep and intriguing look at how secrets can affect a family. As the novel moved on, I felt drawn to this family and ultimately enthralled. This novel did not disappoint at all – it was touching, affirming and conveyed a special story that I really loved.




Review also posted on Goodreads | Amazon UK

Gerard Kelly is a writer, preacher-poet, Mac lover and coffee drinker. He and his wife Chrissie have lived and worked in the UK, France and the Netherlands, and are popular speakers at conferences in Europe. In 1995, they founded Cafe-net, the European missions project that became The Bless Network in 2004. They currently live in Basse Normandy, France.