Book Review: RAIN by Kieryn Nicolas

Amber Rind is a teenage spy raised practically from childbirth at the top secret Watson Institute in Rochester, NY.   There, students are taught academics in the morning, self-defense and espionage in the afternoon.  Advancement comes in the form of moving up through color coded groups (Yellow Group, Green Group, and so forth up to Red Group).  Amber is one of Watson's most prodigious students, highly disciplined and motivated, yet rigid and practically devoid of a social life.

Enter the new kid, Anthony, a meteorology genius.  Watson's omnipresent principal, Thomas Syme, assigns Amber the task of showing Anthony the ropes.  To her surprise, they become fast friends.  At one point, Anthony nicknames her 'Mel', short for melon in reference to her uber-healthy diet.  In return, Amber calls him 'Rain' for his uncanny ability to predict the weather--Ray for short.  From that point, the two refer to one another strictly by their new sobriquets.   Then one night, Ray is killed by an attacker during a mission to stop a crime in progress and for some reason, Syme stops Mel from charging to his aide.  Although she holds her emotions in check, Mel is devastated.

Two years later, Mel is sent on another mission, this time to Brisbane, Australia where she stays at Marvin Academy, a school associated with Watson.  There she eventually makes friends with a group of girls her age, and a mysterious boy named Jonathan who also happens to be a weather wiz kid with very familiar personality traits.  Jonathan and Mel quickly hit it off and it makes her wonder...  Mel now finds herself with two missions, one that was assigned to her by Syme and the other to determine Jonathan's true identity and it isn't long before Mel's interest in Jonathan assumes priority...but could the two be related?  

I have to admit that RAIN was the first YA novel I'd ever read in my life.  Even in my teen years, I had been drawn to the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, JD Salinger, Harlan Ellison and Isaac Asimov.   For light reading, I devoured media tie-in novels in the Star Trek, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones universes.  I suppose some of those could be considered YA. 

This was a new experience for me as was the fact that it was written in first person present tense, a bold move for a new author.  Many a manuscript has been rejected by New York agents for this reason alone.  Yet Nicolas pulls it off and I quickly became accustomed to it as the story drew me in.   Nicolas creates unique characters and Mel's growth from an "all work and no play" secret agent to a young woman capable of feelings was commendable. 

Still, the story slowed in the middle as Mel became closer with some of the girls at Marvin Academy and reluctantly adopted a social life (including wardrobe choices, hairstyling sessions, a school dance, and trips to the ice cream store).  Although the tension was maintained much of the time, I found myself anxious to move forward with Mel's missions and was pleased with the suspenseful, action-packed climax in the last five chapters.  However, my impatience may be more a sign of my age and gender than of the writing itself.  :)

All told, a wonderful debut novel from Kieryn Nicolas who also released a second YA novel, Flawless Ruins, that takes place over 100 years in the future. It's also next on my list.  Stay tuned for the review!

Also note that Kieryn will be appearing at Farpoint, an annual SF media convention in Timonium, MD.  February 17-19, 2012!