The Value of Rain is a tale of clausterphobic intensity about a young boy whose life is almost destroyed by his outrage to take revenge on those who harmed him twenty years earlier. This is a story about lost love for all the wrong reasons. It is about family scheming to keep secrets hidden and to keep lives from progressing. I was in tears at times to learn of the pain young Charles encountered. I connected with this character and our emotions felt as though they were continuously conversing with each other. This is an extremely well written tale. Brandon Shire is a name that I expect to break out onto the pages of literature for quite some time to come.