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Rain Town
'Is there anyone there?' he tentatively enquired at the shadows. There was no response. Must have been a cat he thought. His pulse calmed and he wiped the sweat from his brow. The young thief turned away from the alley and the road and once more urged his feet to move on. 'What are you doing little boy?' commanded a booming voice from the alleyway.
Sidney Rain is an ordinary man with an ordinary job in an ordinary town. Except for the fact that sometimes at night he dresses up as a superhero and heads out living his fantasy. But he's putting on weight, about to lose his job and he's generally not feeling particularly super at all.
Stanley Rain is Sidney's 12 year old son. He's an ordinary boy with ordinary friends at an ordinary school. But that school is being taken over by a local entrepreneur and is changing for the worst. And Stanley is not going to let that happen without a fight.
When a mysterious theft takes place, Stanley and his friends will need to turn detective to help save their school. And after being fired at work by his new boss, Sidney will need his friends to help save his soul.
Sidney Rain is an ordinary man with an ordinary job in an ordinary town. Except for the fact that sometimes at night he dresses up as a superhero and heads out living his fantasy. But he's putting on weight, about to lose his job and he's generally not feeling particularly super at all.
Stanley Rain is Sidney's 12 year old son. He's an ordinary boy with ordinary friends at an ordinary school. But that school is being taken over by a local entrepreneur and is changing for the worst. And Stanley is not going to let that happen without a fight.
When a mysterious theft takes place, Stanley and his friends will need to turn detective to help save their school. And after being fired at work by his new boss, Sidney will need his friends to help save his soul.
- GenresMystery
181 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 30, 2019
2 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Andy Donaldson
2 books3 followersTeacher by day, writer by night.
Author of two books 'Rain Town' and 'Rain Town 2; the Return of the Raven."
Hilarious and touching spins on the lives of 3 ordinary men who become nocturnal superheroes to save their community and 3 extraordinary children whose friendship serves to save their school. Sometimes heroes wear capes.
Available for school visits. Please see Twitter Page for more details.
Author of two books 'Rain Town' and 'Rain Town 2; the Return of the Raven."
Hilarious and touching spins on the lives of 3 ordinary men who become nocturnal superheroes to save their community and 3 extraordinary children whose friendship serves to save their school. Sometimes heroes wear capes.
Available for school visits. Please see Twitter Page for more details.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 1, 2021
I was drawn to Rain Town, not only because the blurb sounded interesting, but also because the cover conjured thoughts of superheroes, night-time escapades, and the prospect of baddies getting their just desserts. And indeed, it did deliver on that promise.
Set in the fictional town of Shigbeth, and told in the third person, Rain Town is a humorous, action and adventure story, which I think will definitely appeal to primary school-aged children and above.
As the story begins, we meet Sidney Rain, an over-weight, middle-aged, single father. For some time now, Sidney has been wandering the streets of Shigbeth during the hours of darkness, wearing dark clothing, a cloak, belt and wellington boots. His disguise is completed with a mask, designed to be the face of a bird. At night, Sidney becomes the crime-fighting superhero ‘The Raven’.
The Raven has confronted a teenager who has just stolen sweets and chocolate from a shop. The teen runs, having disparaged Sidney in his costume. Sidney fails to catch him, and limps home to the house he shares with his twelve-year-old son, Stanley. Nowadays, crime-fighting is not something Sidney can do alone.
The next day Sidney is made redundant from work and for a time, his world spirals out of control. It is only when his best friend Terry Funk appears at his door with a similar story that Sidney pulls himself together and decides to involve Terry in his nocturnal crime-fighting activities. However, before he is ready to explain himself to Terry, Sidney makes another friend, Bobby Bathurst and decides to involve Bobby too. Together they form the Shigbeth Justice League.
Stanley Rain attends Shigbeth Middle School, which is shortly to be turned into an academy. It is due to be renamed Greenstock Academy in honour of school’s new benefactor, Nigel Greenstock, when it reopens after the summer holidays. There will be a new uniform and new school motto. The school premises will be used for business events, the first, a wedding fair and fashion show, is being set up, as the students learn about the impending changes.
Stanley and his friends, Chloe Scott and Billy Bathurst don’t like the proposed changes, believing them not to be in the best interests of the school. Chloe wants to fight the changes, and starts a petition. The trio learn that they will be making a film about community matters, using the schools new computers and tablets. Chloe wants to make this about the academy, and eventually gets the boys onside.
A major theft from the school, and an overheard conversation lead Sidney, Chloe and Billy on a dangerous mission to reveal the identity of the thief. The superheroes of the Shigbeth Justice League are on the same trail, thanks to a tip-off from Calvin, a homeless man.
Will the school friends find themselves in more trouble than they can handle? Will the Shigbeth Justice League be able to help? The answer to these questions and more is found in this well-written and entertaining tale.
The main characters are interesting and realistically drawn. I particularly enjoyed reading about Billy Bathurst. He is a child of great imagination, believing himself to be some sort of spy with all of his homemade spy equipment. He is gutsy as well, putting himself in danger to collect evidence to give to the police. I also liked Chloe, who is a strong female character, and seemingly older than her years.
Of the secondary characters, I liked Chloe’s vampish mother, Miss Scott, who has developed her own method for sizing up any gentleman callers! Half the neighbourhood seem to know all about her tricks, including her own daughter! But my favourite has to be Mr Webster, the asthmatic PE teacher, with his no-holds barred approach to teaching the boys rugby. I had a laugh-out-loud moment at the 'do whatever it takes to stop your opponent' directive involving a shotgun!
I think this story would make a great film adaptation, thanks in part to the particular eccentricities of some of the characters. There is a fair bit of the comedy in the writing too. Some of the best bits concern the hapless Sidney Rain, who is also prone to malapropisms.
This is a wonderful and funny children's adventure story which will appeal to both boys and girls alike, and one which will find its way into my daughter's class reading box.
Set in the fictional town of Shigbeth, and told in the third person, Rain Town is a humorous, action and adventure story, which I think will definitely appeal to primary school-aged children and above.
As the story begins, we meet Sidney Rain, an over-weight, middle-aged, single father. For some time now, Sidney has been wandering the streets of Shigbeth during the hours of darkness, wearing dark clothing, a cloak, belt and wellington boots. His disguise is completed with a mask, designed to be the face of a bird. At night, Sidney becomes the crime-fighting superhero ‘The Raven’.
The Raven has confronted a teenager who has just stolen sweets and chocolate from a shop. The teen runs, having disparaged Sidney in his costume. Sidney fails to catch him, and limps home to the house he shares with his twelve-year-old son, Stanley. Nowadays, crime-fighting is not something Sidney can do alone.
The next day Sidney is made redundant from work and for a time, his world spirals out of control. It is only when his best friend Terry Funk appears at his door with a similar story that Sidney pulls himself together and decides to involve Terry in his nocturnal crime-fighting activities. However, before he is ready to explain himself to Terry, Sidney makes another friend, Bobby Bathurst and decides to involve Bobby too. Together they form the Shigbeth Justice League.
Stanley Rain attends Shigbeth Middle School, which is shortly to be turned into an academy. It is due to be renamed Greenstock Academy in honour of school’s new benefactor, Nigel Greenstock, when it reopens after the summer holidays. There will be a new uniform and new school motto. The school premises will be used for business events, the first, a wedding fair and fashion show, is being set up, as the students learn about the impending changes.
Stanley and his friends, Chloe Scott and Billy Bathurst don’t like the proposed changes, believing them not to be in the best interests of the school. Chloe wants to fight the changes, and starts a petition. The trio learn that they will be making a film about community matters, using the schools new computers and tablets. Chloe wants to make this about the academy, and eventually gets the boys onside.
A major theft from the school, and an overheard conversation lead Sidney, Chloe and Billy on a dangerous mission to reveal the identity of the thief. The superheroes of the Shigbeth Justice League are on the same trail, thanks to a tip-off from Calvin, a homeless man.
Will the school friends find themselves in more trouble than they can handle? Will the Shigbeth Justice League be able to help? The answer to these questions and more is found in this well-written and entertaining tale.
The main characters are interesting and realistically drawn. I particularly enjoyed reading about Billy Bathurst. He is a child of great imagination, believing himself to be some sort of spy with all of his homemade spy equipment. He is gutsy as well, putting himself in danger to collect evidence to give to the police. I also liked Chloe, who is a strong female character, and seemingly older than her years.
Of the secondary characters, I liked Chloe’s vampish mother, Miss Scott, who has developed her own method for sizing up any gentleman callers! Half the neighbourhood seem to know all about her tricks, including her own daughter! But my favourite has to be Mr Webster, the asthmatic PE teacher, with his no-holds barred approach to teaching the boys rugby. I had a laugh-out-loud moment at the 'do whatever it takes to stop your opponent' directive involving a shotgun!
I think this story would make a great film adaptation, thanks in part to the particular eccentricities of some of the characters. There is a fair bit of the comedy in the writing too. Some of the best bits concern the hapless Sidney Rain, who is also prone to malapropisms.
This is a wonderful and funny children's adventure story which will appeal to both boys and girls alike, and one which will find its way into my daughter's class reading box.
March 6, 2020
What a fantastic funny and enjoyable story. This had me chuckling pretty much the whole way through!
We’re introduced to Sidney Rain, Dad/Delivery Driver by day, Superhero by night…….or not!! Sidney’s starting to realise that he’s putting on weight and may not be cut out for his Superhero activities anymore! Then he loses his job and has to re-evaluate his life…….
Meanwhile, his son Stanley finds out that his school is being taken over and turned into an academy – something that him and his friends are not happy about, and they decide they have to do something about it. They start coming up with a plan, but at the same time there is a robbery at their school – just another thing that they feel they have to help solve.
Whilst Stanley and his friends are trying to solve the mystery and figure out how to save their school, Sidney is rallying his unemployed friends together…….what’s better than one old superhero?! Three of course!! But will the grown ups be able to get their lives back on track (or are they deluded!) and will Stanley and his friends be able to save their school before they have to wear hideous uniforms and exercise outside in the rain indefinitely?!
This is a story that not only will your children love, but you will too! I mean, I don’t even have children – and thoroughly enjoyed it! There are moments throughout this that will have kids laughing out loud, and the whole story will just put a massive smile on their faces.
The way the author portrays the adults is so funny. The children are much brighter than their parents and appear to make much better decisions. Sidney is so embarrassing – I can remember being a kid and thinking about how embarrassing adults can be at times……the author has absolutely nailed this feeling in this book!
The way the kids are more mature than us adults would give them credit for is also covered brilliantly. They want to be included in decisions and are devastated that there are changes being made to their school without their consultation. As adults we might forget that/think they’re not interested, when they genuinely are. This book gives us a good reminder of this.
Overall, I absolutely loved this and know that children and adults alike will love this too. The storyline will appeal to all ages, and being a teacher, the author absolutely understands kids and what they’d want from a fantastic, fun, enjoyable and engaging book. If you’re looking for something to read with your kids next, then you should seriously consider this – you won’t regret it (and you’re kids will be super happy!)
We’re introduced to Sidney Rain, Dad/Delivery Driver by day, Superhero by night…….or not!! Sidney’s starting to realise that he’s putting on weight and may not be cut out for his Superhero activities anymore! Then he loses his job and has to re-evaluate his life…….
Meanwhile, his son Stanley finds out that his school is being taken over and turned into an academy – something that him and his friends are not happy about, and they decide they have to do something about it. They start coming up with a plan, but at the same time there is a robbery at their school – just another thing that they feel they have to help solve.
Whilst Stanley and his friends are trying to solve the mystery and figure out how to save their school, Sidney is rallying his unemployed friends together…….what’s better than one old superhero?! Three of course!! But will the grown ups be able to get their lives back on track (or are they deluded!) and will Stanley and his friends be able to save their school before they have to wear hideous uniforms and exercise outside in the rain indefinitely?!
This is a story that not only will your children love, but you will too! I mean, I don’t even have children – and thoroughly enjoyed it! There are moments throughout this that will have kids laughing out loud, and the whole story will just put a massive smile on their faces.
The way the author portrays the adults is so funny. The children are much brighter than their parents and appear to make much better decisions. Sidney is so embarrassing – I can remember being a kid and thinking about how embarrassing adults can be at times……the author has absolutely nailed this feeling in this book!
The way the kids are more mature than us adults would give them credit for is also covered brilliantly. They want to be included in decisions and are devastated that there are changes being made to their school without their consultation. As adults we might forget that/think they’re not interested, when they genuinely are. This book gives us a good reminder of this.
Overall, I absolutely loved this and know that children and adults alike will love this too. The storyline will appeal to all ages, and being a teacher, the author absolutely understands kids and what they’d want from a fantastic, fun, enjoyable and engaging book. If you’re looking for something to read with your kids next, then you should seriously consider this – you won’t regret it (and you’re kids will be super happy!)
March 20, 2019
This novel is a wonderful and exciting debut from author, Andy Donaldson!
The plot was intriguing and exciting and very well paced with no slow parts and I particularly liked the author’s portrayal of the characters. The interaction between the three school-friends, twelve-year-old Stanley Rain, Chloe Scott and Billy Bathurst was a delight. Also worth a mention was the way in which Sidney Rain, (Stanley’s dad,) Bobby Bathurst (father of Billy) and Terry Funk bonded when they all found themselves in the same situation as one another.
As well as being rich in wit and humour, “Rain Town” highlights some important issues for the reader about communication, morals and friendship in the modern world.
I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to both adults and older children and I hope to read more of Andy Donaldson’s novels in the future.
Thanks to #NetGalley, Troubador Publishing, and Andy Donaldson for my ARC of #RainTown in exchange for an honest review.
The plot was intriguing and exciting and very well paced with no slow parts and I particularly liked the author’s portrayal of the characters. The interaction between the three school-friends, twelve-year-old Stanley Rain, Chloe Scott and Billy Bathurst was a delight. Also worth a mention was the way in which Sidney Rain, (Stanley’s dad,) Bobby Bathurst (father of Billy) and Terry Funk bonded when they all found themselves in the same situation as one another.
As well as being rich in wit and humour, “Rain Town” highlights some important issues for the reader about communication, morals and friendship in the modern world.
I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to both adults and older children and I hope to read more of Andy Donaldson’s novels in the future.
Thanks to #NetGalley, Troubador Publishing, and Andy Donaldson for my ARC of #RainTown in exchange for an honest review.
July 1, 2019
This book was so charming. I enjoyed Sidney Rain's character, who is a bit out of touch with people, but surely means well. As for his son, Stanley, he's also a delightful character, and his interactions with his friends felt so real to me. I thought the author did an excellent job introducing me to this city and I truly fell in love with the characters in this book. I was glad to read it and I highly recommend it to someone who wants to escape into Stanley and Sidney's world while laughing along the way!
January 6, 2021
Rain Town was a well written book with a good plot and well like characters.
Unfortunately while I liked this book it wasn't for me.
#RainTown #NetGalley
Unfortunately while I liked this book it wasn't for me.
#RainTown #NetGalley
April 8, 2019
Hilarious teenage fiction
Loved the characters and plot and as a teacher could empathise with Billy regarding the school motto! Likeable characters with real depth and real relationships. Lots of laugh out loud moments with a real moral story about justice and friendship. Wish it was on the curriculum!
Loved the characters and plot and as a teacher could empathise with Billy regarding the school motto! Likeable characters with real depth and real relationships. Lots of laugh out loud moments with a real moral story about justice and friendship. Wish it was on the curriculum!
February 7, 2019
A lovely and enjoyable book that can be appreciated by younger and older reader.
I liked the well written and fleshed out characters, I laughed out loud more than once, and the plot kept me hooked till the last page.
A very good book, highly recommended!
Many thanks to Matador and Netgalley for this ARC
I liked the well written and fleshed out characters, I laughed out loud more than once, and the plot kept me hooked till the last page.
A very good book, highly recommended!
Many thanks to Matador and Netgalley for this ARC
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews