Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This was a contemplative sweet and sad story about growing up, dealing with loss, and the meaning of your heritage. I enjoyed it, though it was a little slow in some parts.

I received an e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really great book about feelings, family, and finding your way in the world. I had no idea it was an already published book that was being re-released with some minor revisions. I appreciated the Author's Note at the end.

I wish I could say that I liked this book more than I did, but at the end of the day, I feel that this book is just a product of it's time. To me, the plot of this book was very uncemented, as though the author wanted to have the book go in one direction, but then went in another, then another, then another. I have to remind myself that this is one of the first book written by this author, and she does have newer books that I look forward to reading.

Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia L. Smith is a delightful read. The story follows Cassidy, Muscogee Creek and Ojibway, as she grapples with the loss of her best friend Galen and the death of her mother years prior. Readers will enjoy this simple yet beautiful story because of its characters and themes: finding oneself, healing past the loss of one's loves, overcoming sexism, and what it means to be biracial. 4/5 stars.

I really enjoyed reading from Rain's perspective. This is the first fiction book I've read with a mixed indigenous person as the main character. It was easy to understand Rain's feelings about her best friend, his death, and her mother's passing.
This book is a rerelease of the version that was published in 2001 and I could tell. There weren't any references to things that teens do today, like using Snapchat, etc. There were also a few moments that seemed like the author was going to acknowledge anti-black racism, but she didn't really engage with it in Rain's thoughts. They were just short observations.
I am a fan of Own Voices books and will always support BIPOC authors but this book did not make much of an impression with me. I would have liked to see if Rain got to reconnect with her Ojibwe roots and more scenes about her making new friends or reconnecting with her ex-bestfriend.

On Rain's birthday, New Year's, she is ready for a new start. She is ready to tell her best friend Galen, how she feels about him. When tragedy strikes and Galen dies in an accident, she shuts down. Six months later, Galen's mom has started a campaign against her Aunt's Indian Camp Summer Program. On behalf of the local paper, Rain goes to photograph Indian camp, and begins to deal with and unravel her grief, and find her identity in a small town.

This is a very powerful and quiet own voices story. I am very happy that this book got a refresh for the 20th anniversary. This story had a lot of layers to it and I liked that is a great read for younger teens. It tackles a lot of tough issues in a great way.

I had never heard of this book even though it was published in the early 2000s. The first chapter caught my attention because the main character's best friend passes away. I thought this book would be a normal YA book about boy/girl relationships, but it did not follow that path. This book concentrates more on Rain grieving her friend and how she comes to find her spot in her town as being one of the few Native Americans. I really like the storytelling since there is an excerpt from her journal at the start of each chapter and then it continues to tell the story. Rain has a family dynamic that some students will be able to relate to. This was a quick read for me and I have already purchased a book for my school's Media Center.

Originally published in 2001. This is a reprint. It has been updated to reflect technology and naming changes. #RainIsNotMyIndianName #NetGalley

Rain Is Not My Indian Name is a beautiful book for a middle school library. The representation is so important, in that we have a main character who is dealing with the loss of her friend, the loss of her mother, difficult relationships with family members, and is a minority in her community.

This book is very introspective with lots of opportunity for growth, and it is narrated in a way that will allow students to grow with her. I'd recommend this for students who have experienced loss and have felt particularly isolated recently, as the best part is that Rain finds her own agency and strength to move forward in a way that she is comfortable.

A fantastic book where a young girl deals with the tragedy of losing her best friend and learns it's okay to be herself.

"Rain is Not My Indian Name" is a compelling story about a young girl who has to deal with various issues: a death of a friend, cultural heritage and identity, as well as a family pregnancy.

It is an encouraging story filled with hope and sweetness, this message that we are strong and worthy. The book is done with grace and feeling, especially in regards to Cassidy, our main character, who is trying to find her place in the world.

Through Rain's journey is to embrace her heritage, the book has a clear message that we are all different and our uniqueness is what brings us all together. I feel like we can all find ourselves in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for this book for my honest review.

This is a good realistic fiction story. We follow Rain, a teenager whose best friend died a few months ago. She has to start facing the outside world again when the mother of said best friend writes to the local newspaper about the Indian Camp that Rain’s aunt is running. It makes sure to note that Rain isn’t attending.

It’s a mostly white neighborhood, and Rain wants to help even if she didn’t want to attend Indian Camp herself. Soon, she finds herself as a photographer covering Indian Camp for the local newspaper. There is also a side story regarding Rain’s brother and his fiancée. It’s an interesting read.

I really liked this book for several reasons. One was learning about racism and biases around Native Americans. I thought it was handled really well and done in a thoughtful and respectful way. (Read the Authors note at the end. It was very eye opening to me.) Two, we look at other people through our lens. We don’t always think about their viewpoint or background. The author did a really good job showing it without force feeding it to the reader. Another reason I liked this book was how adult choices can change the tide of events.
This is not an emotional or action packed book. But it does gently pull us through growing up and becoming mature.

Rain Is Not My Indian Name
by Cynthia L. Smith
HarperCollins Children's Books
Heartdrum
Teens & YA
Pub Date 09 Feb 2021


I am reviewing a copy of Rain Is Not My Indian Name:


Six months ago Cassidy Rain Berghoff’s best friend, Galen, died, and she has succeeded in shutting herself off from the world. But when controversy arises around Aunt Georgia’s Indian Camp in their mostly white midwestern community, Rain decides to face the outside world again, with a new job photographing the campers for her town’s newspaper.



It doesn’t take long for Rain to decide how involved she wants to become in Indian Camp. Does she want to keep a professional distance from her fellow Native teens? Despite her grief will she be able to embrace new friends and new beginnings?


I give Rain Is Not My Indian five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

My understanding is that this is a reprint of a previously published book from 2001 that has been updated to reflect more contemporary terminology. The story often veers dark with plenty of trigger warnings for death to be found, but it is also one of the few works for children that deals with mixed native identity outside the confines of a majority indigenous community (be it urban or on the rez).

While reading this book, I listened to the audiobook from the 2001 release for parts of it and I was pleasantly surprised by the updates. Some politically incorrect language was taken out and the word Indian was changed to Native in many instances. I also think the cover art is now so much more modern. I hope that more young people are drawn to this beautiful story now. I would definitely recommend this book.