Some of my brilliant pupils have taken up the challenge to read their A-Z.

So we chose to break with convention and start with …. A

First up is
Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan
Reviewed by Caitlyn
To be honest, this book was not for me. Normally, I am into the usual soppy story about reunion and love, however, this book takes it too far. I’m sorry to say this, but for me, this was not a credible book.
First of all, the book has too many ideas going on in a short period of time. It seems like the main character of her book, Apple, has almost every problem known to man. She loses her mum and is in the midst of losing her friend and her mum finally comes back and she has a new sister and then her mum isn’t being a proper parent. Not only is this all happening, but at the same time Apple is an amazing writer but is too scared to follow her talent. Furthermore she falls in love with a boy who helps her find her sister who ran away. What I’m trying to say is that there is too much going on at once and, after a while, the plot just gets confusing. I believe that this could have been one of my favourite books if it had a plot that didn’t stray off to completely different ideas.
Another point I believe should be noted is that why is a girl, of 13, finding love at the end of the book? No one that I have heard of has ever found love this young, yet Apple does? Not only does this have nothing to do with the main idea, but also I think that it is unbelievable which just does not flatter the book. I love books that make me believe in any possibility, which helps me to visualise myself in the main character’s shoes, yet, due to this ending, ‘Apple and Rain’, it does not have that effect on me.
Finally, I would like to point out the names of the main characters. Apollinia Apostolopoulou is the full name of the main character in this novel. I understand it’s Greek and it is to link to the title, but it is far-fetched when most parents in the UK would go for the more generic names such as Lucy, Sophie, and Eve etc. I know that the long name which is hard to say is probably a metaphor for how no one understands Apple and her life, but in all seriousness, this book is for your free time. You’re more than likely not to see this book being analysed in an English lesson, so why the symbolic name?
Overall, even though this book is probably not her usual writing style, it has sadly put me off reading any of her books.