59 pages • 1 hour read
Ann M. MartinRain Reign
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Character Analysis
Rose Howard
Rose is Rain Reign’s 11-year-old protagonist who has been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. She is portrayed as sensitive both to her environment, becoming overstimulated and overwhelmed by ambient noises such as those of a laptop or television, and emotionally, picking up on the tense dynamic between Wesley and Weldon. She experiences deep love for her dog, Rain, but is motivated to give the dog back to her old owners when she discovers that they lost her. This act suggests that Rose is more than capable of understanding and expressing a wide range of emotional experiences including empathy, camaraderie with others, grief, and loss. It should be noted that some representatives within the disabled community view expecting universal conformity to neurotypical emotional reactions and expressions as oppressive; see Samantha Stanko’s review of the book Mockingbird for more on this topic. Rose is also aware of the potentially abusive and borderline negligent behavior of her father but struggles to fully articulate the fear that his alternating anger toward and disinterest in her causes.
Rose has a strong interest in homonyms, which Martin uses as an example of the fascination some people with autism experience about certain topics. Martin says of Rose’s character:
I wondered what kinds of things might become obsessions for her, and thought almost immediately about homophones, which are something of an obsession of mine. After doing some research on spectrum disorders, I realized that Rose might be obsessed with rules and rule-following as well. (Rain Reign First Square Fish edition bonus materials)
Part of Rose’s motivation to give Rain back to her past owner also stems from her desire to “follow the rules” by respecting their prior claim on and attachment to Rain. Because Wesley made no effort to find out if Rain had past owners when he found her, Rose’s commitment to reunite Rain with them is also a sign that she is learning to question and critically examine Wesley’s behavior as the book progresses.
Wesley Howard
Wesley is Rose’s father and her only living parent (although Rose doesn’t learn that her mother has died until the end of the story). Wesley is intermittently employed at a local garage and spends much of his non-working time at a local bar. He is thus physical absent during most of Rose’s day-to-day life: “One way or the other, he isn’t at home” (12). Wesley is also emotionally distant from his daughter, whose personality he wants to conform to what he sees as normality rather than investigate what resources she needs to thrive. Rose tries to portray her father in a favorable light by relating his backstory of parental abuse and absence (his father was physically abusive, and his mother died when he was young), to which she attributes Wesley’s desire to raise her himself.
Wesley is portrayed as quick to judge, as when he says that since Rain wasn’t wearing a collar when he found her, any past owners she might have had “don’t deserve her” (26). Later in the book, however, Wesley accidently lets Rain outside without a collar just as her past owners did. He refuses to buy technology beyond a television for Rose, saying that it’s “expensive and unnecessary” (15), without acknowledging that she could use such technology to help connect to other people with autism, help her with schoolwork, or simply entertain herself in his absence. He becomes angry, perhaps in part because he feels guilty, when Weldon points out that Rose needs new clothes. Wesley is associated overall with isolation, self-reliance to a fault, and self-absorption. Martin uses these traits to make Wesley’s decision to send Rose to live with Weldon understandable and a triumph for Rose at the end of the book.
Weldon Howard
Weldon serves as a foil for Wesley in almost every way. In contrast to Wesley’s distance from and lack of understanding toward Rose, Weldon is caring, patient, and engaged with her. While Wesley is associated with isolation and an unhealthy desire for self-reliance, Weldon acknowledges and understands the importance of social connections, giving Rose a much more connected life as she goes to live with him. The most notable example of this change is the fact that Weldon enrolls Rose in a summer program for students with autism, which helps her form new relationships with others. Weldon also takes Rose on outings throughout the book, unlike Wesley, and these outings help her learn about and have new experiences in the world. By being so nurturing and caring toward Rose, Weldon not only takes the place of her father at the end of the book, but also mirrors the qualities often associated with mothering, becoming an emotional replacement for both her parents.
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By Ann M. Martin
