ARC Review: Rain of the Ghosts by Greg Weisman
Title: Rain of the Ghosts
Series: Rain Cacique #1
By: Greg Weisman
Author Info: Publisher | Twitter | Goodreads
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre Type: Paranormal, Ghosts, Mystery
Publication Date: December 3rd 2013
Pages: 240 pages
Format: ARC
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin/macmillan
Goodreads Summary
Rain of the Ghosts is the first in Greg Weisman's series about an adventurous young girl, Rain Cacique, who discovers she has a mystery to solve, a mission to complete and, oh, yes, the ability to see ghosts.
Welcome to the Prospero Keys (or as the locals call them: the Ghost Keys), a beautiful chain of tropical islands on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. Rain Cacique is water-skiing with her two best friends Charlie and Miranda when Rain sees her father waiting for her at the dock. Sebastian Bohique, her maternal grandfather, has passed away. He was the only person who ever made Rain feel special. The only one who believed she could do something important with her life. The only thing she has left to remember him by is the armband he used to wear: two gold snakes intertwined, clasping each other’s tails in their mouths. Only the armband . . . and the gift it brings: Rain can see dead people. Starting with the Dark Man: a ghost determined to reveal the Ghost Keys’ hidden world of mystery and mysticism, intrigue and adventure.
An adventurous young girl, a magical armband, and mysterious ghosts
Rain of the Ghosts was so much more than I expected. The story slowly drew me in with it suspenseful story until the very end where I immediately wanted to crack open book two of the fabulous tale. Sure it has a spirited heroine with a great best buddy sidekick, thrills and adventure, and fascinating tropical setting, but what really surprised me was the compelling mystery in the storyline. It was much more than I had anticipated, and by the end of Rain of the Ghosts I realized the mystery was really only the beginning of a much larger and complicated one that I'm excited for with all it's possibilities.
"To Unlock a door, you need two things: A key and someone who knows how to turn it."
SETTING AND SUMMARY
Rain of the Ghosts takes place just on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle on a chain of tropical islands known as the Prospero Keys (or Ghost Keys as the local call them) where young teen Rain Cacique longs for adventure and excitement. It is the end of Summer, and by day Rain spends her vacation time with her best friend Charlie biking around the island playing madcap games of "Attack of the Killer Tourist" or just hanging out at a secret part of the island called the N.T.Z. (No Tourist Zone) where teens go to avoid local tourist.
One evening back at her parents Bed & Breakfast her grandfather, whom Rain adores and loves very much, decides it is time to give Rain a very special gift, one that has been in his family for generations. A golden armband of two snakes intertwined, clasping each others tails in their mouths. It is not until later, when Rain's grandfather passes away and she is heartbroken, that she discovers that she received much more from her grandfather than a golden armband, she received the ability to see Ghosts.
When a strange tourist is suspected of stealing her armband, Rain, with help of her best friend Charley, try to solve the mystery of the armband and why a ghost known as The Dark Man seems to be trying to tell her something important about it. Suddenly Rain is surrounded by the secret world of the Ghost Keys, a world of adventure, magic, and mystery.
CHARACTERS
Rain of the Ghosts is told from a mysterious character's point of view, nicknamed Opie, (third person omniscient) who just may be a dog, a ghosts, or something supernatural. It gives the reader a great insiders view of the story, but at the same time it took me a little longer to connect with some of the characters, especially Rain, whom I ended up really liking.
“I’m never going to do anything. I’ll never go anywhere.”
Rain is the type of girl who seeks adventure. She's not afraid of much, and you could easily picture her off fighting pirates or digging up treasure. Her worst fear is never being able to experience "real" adventure, to be stuck on her touristy island and never being able to travel. Once I got to know Rain's character, I really enjoyed her sense of adventure, independence and spirited personality. Her unflinching ability to accept the unknown and her zest for life. To see her character go from complaining of no adventure to being thrust into a world of ghosts, mystery and danger was really entertaining.
Sebastian Bohique, Rain's grandfather and a former World War II fighter pilot, has special bond with Rain and calls her his "Raindrop." He sees something special in his granddaughter, and admires her tenacity and sense of adventure. What I enjoyed most of all was the sense of connection and love he shared with Rain, and the thrilling role he plays in the larger aspect of the mystery.
Charlie Dauphin is Rain's best friend and sidekick in all her adventures. He's sweet, trusting, and a loyal friend to Rain. When others begin to worry about her seeing ghosts, he simply trust that she is telling the truth. There's a lot of funny moments in the story when Charlie attempts to talk to or see Rain's ghosts, often with hilarious results.
THE ROMANCE
There really isn’t a romance in Rain of the Ghosts, but Charlie does have has a sweet crush on Rain that I thought was really cute, and helped lighten up some of the suspense. What’s more important is the wonderful bond between Rain and her grandfather, and her friendship with Charlie.
WHAT I LIKED
I loved the whole mystery behind the armband and the magical factor it plays in the story. When I first picked up the book I was hoping for buried treasure, pirates, ghosts and curses. I was totally surprised and excited when the story went a bit of a different direction. I got my wish, but the author takes the story a step further with endless possibilities with the Zemi armband and the magic it holds.
WHAT I HAD A HARD TIME WITH
Rain of the Ghosts is a fairly short book, about 240 pages. After getting use to the third person (mysterious) point of view, and the mystery was really starting to unfold, it ended. I’m greedy, it had a great ending that I loved, but I wanted more.
RATING: 4 Stars. I really liked it.
RECOMMENDED
Rain of the Ghosts has great Young Adult appeal with it's intriguing mystery, two adventurous teens, tropical island setting, and a magic that is only now just being explored. I cannot wait to see where the author goes with the Rain of the Ghosts series.
PLEASE NOTE
A courtesy review copy of this book was provided by St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley in exchange for my fair review. Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for the review opportunity!
