Rating: 
Summary: Not so good.
Review: After reading many of L'Engle's children and teen books, this I saw this one at the library and took a chance. Bad idea. Maybe it's just because I wasn't ready for it, (I'm 13) but I have read other adult books before and liked them. This book was just mostly depressing. Nothing happened like I wanted it to (okay, I know that doesn't happen in real life, but so what) and the whole thing just had a bleak feel. Maybe that was partly because I read it on a rainy Saturday. But neither romances worked out (With Charlot or Pete) and the friendship with Sarah turned out to really be a dud. Sarah really turned into a unlikable character. One of the best times of the book was when Katherine and Sarah are friends at boarding school and then that friendship gets ruined by the mean head lady. Katherine drinks so much in this book when she's so young, but maybe that was more normal when this book was written. I didn't really like this book, I think I'll stick to L'Engle's fantasy and young adult books.
Rating: 
Summary: And it was her first novel!
Review: As an embryonic writer myself, what amazes me most about this excellently crafted novel is that it was L'Engle's first, and one that was to be followed by ten years of rejection slips. She takes us through boarding school and a unique adolescence with grace and humor.
Rating:
Summary: This is a Vintage Soap Opera
Review: Firstly, I must say that this book is NOT great literature. I was a dreamy 12-year-old L'engle fan when I borrowed a battered 1st edition copy from the school library and then "forgot" to return it. I couldn't bear to part with Katherine and her supporting cast of wildly distinct charecters. It was a soap opera of a book, better yet, a 1940s soap opera. So much retro dialogue, so much drama. The ups in the story were big ups, the downs really low, yet despite it all, I daydreamed about being Katherine. I imagined myself passionately playing the piano, drinking wine at age ten, and dancing on the boat with Dr. Barna. I pictured myself in just about every situation that Katherine was in, sometimes spent hours thinking about how I would handle it. Now that I'm a little older, I re-read the book and still indulge in the over-dramatization of it. I give it 5 stars not because it's this great literary masterpiece, but because it's fun. I don't think dreamland books like this one are written anymore, and would recommend it to any starry-eyed female.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, realistic, you can NOT put it down!
Review: I am a big fan of Madeleine L'Engle, and I started reading her when I was ten. I am now fourteen, and this is the first adult novel of hers I read. It is wonderful! Katherine is very easy to identify with, and she seems so real. I don't believe at all that it has a disappointing end-- some people aren't meant for each other and you that Katherine will be okay because she is so talented and strong. She responds realistically to the situations in her life. It's great to see that as she grew(the book starts out when she is ten and ends when she's seventeen), you can see her becoming her own person, and the effects that all the people in her life have had. I wasn't sure if I would like this book at first, but it is now one of my favorite books. READ IT, YOU WON'T BE SORRY!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of L'engle's best
Review: I came across this book quite randomly and decided to read it (as i often read any book that i can get my hands on), and i am extremely glad I did. It is a wonderful novel in the way that you feel as if you are living the main characters life. Katherine is a young girl who is struggling to become a musician while trying to live up to her deceased mother's memory. It is a bit weak in plot but makes up for with the raw emotion. I found it rather different from L'engles other books such as A Wind in the Door or A Swiftly Tilted Planet , but then again A Small Rain is an adult book while the others are not. It is undoubtedly my favorite of her books and i definetly recommend it to anyone at all.
Rating:
Summary: One of L'engle's best
Review: I came across this book quite randomly and decided to read it (as i often read any book that i can get my hands on), and i am extremely glad I did. It is a wonderful novel in the way that you feel as if you are living the main characters life. Katherine is a young girl who is struggling to become a musician while trying to live up to her deceased mother's memory. It is a bit weak in plot but makes up for with the raw emotion. I found it rather different from L'engles other books such as A Wind in the Door or A Swiftly Tilted Planet , but then again A Small Rain is an adult book while the others are not. It is undoubtedly my favorite of her books and i definetly recommend it to anyone at all.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written and thought-provoking
Review: I could hardly put this novel down and finished it in three days. I appreciate Madeleine L'Engle for her realistic plot and amazing descriptions of life. She surprised me with her treatment of controversial issues...she really does color outside of the lines of popular Christian art. Madeleine widens my horizons, opens my eyes to experiences that are different than my own. She is a true artist who shows us all of the story, the good and the bad, without passing judgement. This made me, the reader, feel much more involved in the story. I found myself wrestling with issues without simply accepting the writer's judgements of them.
Even though Katherine's life is tragic, the reader finds herself relating to Katherine's feelings and needs. I could relate to Katherine's naive thoughts and actions, and her growing into understanding of others and herself. This is a beautiful growing-up story, one that is so well-written that it deserves praise.
Rating: 
Summary: An Outstanding Literary Debut
Review: I first became acquainted to the works of Madeleine L'Engle when I read 'A Wrinkle in Time' in the fourth grade. I thought it was brilliant, and still do, but I was hesitant to give 'The Small Rain' a try. It didn't sound too interesting, and its size intimidated me (it isn't that long, but boring books always seem longer than they really are.) I did read it, and I was shocked by how great it was. It's wonderful. Its like one of those great 1940s movies, loaded with nostalgic, of-the-time dialouge and likeable--although perhaps unrealistic-- charecters. It's well conceived, witty, and a plain good read. I think anybody could enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Small Rain
Review: I liked this book very much. It was a book with a subtle plot; that made me think. Even though I have never had a life anything like hers; I understood this girl when it was over. Very Interesting
Rating:
Summary: The Small Rain
Review: I thought this book was worth reading, but not as great literature - the drama is over the top. It moves well and is interesting, but no good if you want a realistic story. The Small Rain reads like the daydream of a teenage girl. She's injured. She's a fabulous actress at ten, but wants to be a pianist! She drinks wine throughout the entire book (from ten to seventeen years of age). She goes to boarding school and is basically accused of having a homosexual relationship with her best friend. She goes home and a friend dies falling out of a third floor window. She has a very brief affair with a childhood friend. She goes to New York and falls in love with another childhood friend, much older than she, who then does something very dramatic which would give a big part away if I told you. The drama is just too much! I'm not saying it's no good at all; it has a certain type of fascination. But her other books were better, and I have higher hopes for A Severed Wasp, when I get to read it. I know that I sound incredibly critical, so please don't base your purchase on this review.
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