Overview

Annie Bell can’t escape the dust. It’s in her hair, covering the windowsills, coating the animals in the barn, in the corners of her children’s dry, cracked lips. It’s 1934 and the Bell farm in Mulehead, Oklahoma is struggling as the earliest storms of The Dust Bowl descend. All around them the wheat harvests are drying out and people are packing up their belongings as storms lay waste to the Great Plains. As the Bells wait for the rains to come, Annie and each member of her family are pulled in different directions. Annie’s fragile young son, Fred, suffers from dust pneumonia; her headstrong daughter, Birdie, flush with first love, is choosing a dangerous path out of Mulehead; and Samuel, her husband, is plagued by disturbing dreams of rain.

As Annie, desperate for an escape of her own, flirts with the affections of an unlikely admirer, she must choose who she is going to become. With her warm storytelling and beautiful prose, Rae Meadows brings to life an unforgettable family that faces hardship with rare grit and determination. Rich in detail and epic in scope, I Will Send Rain is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, filled with hope, morality, and love. 

Review

First of all…this cover is amazing. Perfectly matched to the story. 

Annie Bell and her family are in the middle of the dust bowl just struggling to survive.  Her family is falling apart. With a few bad decisions, it is a battle whichever way they turn. 

This is a read you will not soon forget. It is a powerful tale about the hardships of life. The feelings this book creates are unforgettable.   It’s like you are there experiencing the dust, drought and hunger. The characters are tough as nails but create an amazing bond with the reader. Will the family survive or will they do as many others and uproot and move west? 

The author did a superb job describing the dust and it’s aftermath. I just couldn’t imagine fighting that battle along with a drought and outlandish heat. The way each character reacts to these trials is a story in and of itself. Each one react differently and with great consequences. This is a story which stays with you days after you have finished. 

Don’t think this story does not jerk a tear either. Believe me, it does!! I do not want to give away a spoiler, just letting you know to be prepared! 

I would love a sequel to this tale. It would be great to hear if some of the bad decisions actually turn out ok. 

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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