Rain Is Not My Indian Name

Good book, as described, thank you!

"Being a Native girl is no big deal. Really. It seems weird to have to say this, but after a lifetime of experience, I'm used to being me. Dealing with the rest of the world and its ideas, now that frustrates me sometimes."QOTD: What's your first read of this month?Rain is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith was my first read this month and I breezed right through it. It is a short, light hearted read about Cassidy Rain dealing with the death of her best friend and her process of grief. I loved that the story was told with a mix of storytelling and journal entries. The characters really set the tone in this one and the protagonist's growth is the star of the novel. I wish the story was longer because I totally fell in love with Rain and wanted to know more about Indian Camp and the kids. I also loved that she was allowed the space to work out her grief on her own terms and by reconnecting with her passion for photography. It allowed her to see the world through a new lens and change her perspective about certain things.When it ended I felt like it was a great beginning to bigger journey. I recommend this one if you want to start some conversations with youth about grief and feeling different.The key themes in this one are:📷 grief and first love📷 the ways that society "others" Native children, especially girls📷 how feeling different affects your ability to be vulnerable and ask for help📷 the importance of allowing youth space to grieve and work through the process in their own way with support📷 the importance of reconnecting with ancestral ways and culture📷 the importance of specific cultural programs📷 the sexualization of teen girls, especially Native ones📷 family support is vital📷 the importance of allowing youth to pursue passions📷 teaching culture in collaborative ways📷 assimilation and surviving looks different among members of the same family📷 positive sibling relationships📷 xenophobia of small towns📷 ascribed identities and beliefs

“That hug with Mama and Galen, that’s my safest memory.” Thank you to Little Free Library’s Indigenous Library Program, Heartdrum Press, and Cynthia Leitich Smith for this free copy!“Rain is Not My Indian Name” by Cynthia Leitich Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: MG/YA fiction. Location: the fictional small town of Hannesburg, Kansas, USA. Time: June 26-July 4, present.Cassidy Rain Berghoff (hazel eyes and wheat brown hair), will soon be in 9th grade. She loves photography and her best friend Galen. They’re holiday babies: Rain born on New Year’s Day, and Galen on the 4th of July. Rain’s mother is dead, her Air Force father stationed in Guam. She lives with her Grandpa Berghoff and her brother, college student Fynn. On New Year’s Day, her life is changed forever when Galen dies, and she shuts herself off from the world. Now it’s summer and her Aunt Georgia starts a science-based “Indian Camp” for the few Native children in town. Rain decides to face the outside world, gets with a job photographing campers for the newspaper, and has to decide how involved she can be while still grieving. A new household situation, and angry letters about the camp help her slowly thread her way back.Author Leitich Smith (citizen of the Muscogee Creek nation) spent much of her youth in Kansas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Kansas. She begins chapters with entries from Rain’s journal that give us insight to her past. She brings small town values/beliefs to life in this book about grieving while being a Native in white-centered Kansas. Rain is thoughtful, spirited, has a sense of humor-plus all the angst that comes with early teen years. Leitich Smith has a way with words that grounds you in Rain’s character: (“…eating Oreo cookies the wrong way, like sandwiches.” “Nobody’s more dangerous than an ex-second-best friend.”) She includes many references to Native cultures such as tear dresses, broken star quilts, pow wows-noting that Rain’s family is mixed with several Native ethnicities and European ancestries. It’s an insightful, honest, sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking tale of a young girl traversing the stages of grief, and it’s 5 stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️

Short & appealing coming of age story set in small town Kansas. Weaves together elements of grief, ethnic identity, friendship, and individuality.