Waiting for The Rain

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Summary: a story based on aparthied
Review: We(me end my group), didn't like the book because it was very dull and not to the point.It was very depressing because the climax was at the end.The other thing was that the title of the book had nothing to do with the story.

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Summary: An educative novel
Review: Waiting For The Rain book was really interesting.It showed me what aparthied can do to a friendship and how it also the affected the black South Africans and how they tried to deal with and and also the conditions they had to live on. I liked the book because it created suspense which made want to read the book even though it was a bit depressing.

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Summary: Review by Laura, Casey, Lokesh, and Adrian
Review: Waiting for the Rain is a novel about two boys, Tengo and Frikkie, who were brought up during the apartheid. Each of them had a dream and they tried their best to achieve them, no matter what. They were torn apaprt because of numerous events which all revolved around Apartheid.
Half of our group thought this was a book worth to read once, but not twice. This novel intrigued you in some ways, but put you to sleep in others. It was a predictable story about what happened to the to boys and apartheid. We thought that the ending was a bit of a surprise, though, but the story needed some action. At the end, some action occured. It ended suddenly, but this story didn't leave you hanging. We could predict what would happen to the two boys, if we wanted to. A somewhat unique idea for a book was written about, but thereal thing was more fascinating and we think the author should have brought some of that action and reality into the story.
Th eother half of our group thought this book quite frankly stunk. The story droned on and we just wanted it to end. A main thing was that it lacked action and imagination. Frikkie just stood there and dreamt about life on the farm and that was his character. He didn't do anything interesting. Tengo had brains, but didn't use them. He chickened out on his dream of getting an education.
Some points we did share were: the book was dull, predictable and just not interesting. There were barley any surprises, which always keeps a readers attention. The story started off slowly. All in all, it was a realistic fiction book, but could've been more interesting and could've had more action.

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Summary: Waiting for the rain
Review: The people in our group didn't like the book because the characters were too dull and boring. We also thought that the book was too long, and the main idea wasnt put forward quickly. Tengo was mentioned alot in the book but Frikkie wasn't mentioned as much. It got tiring after a while because the author kept writing about Tengo and his life, but nothing really happened in Frikkie's life, when they are both the main characters. The story itself was not special. Normally stories are about interesting situations or people, but in this book nothing is interesting. It could have happened to anyone living under "apartheid". The author should've used aparthied in more situations. Also, there were too many small problems which were fussed over too much. In conclusion the book was extremely boring and unmeaningful.

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Summary: Life Under Apartheid
Review: The book wasn't too bad but it could have been more consistantly exciting. It was a little like living under water because sometimes life is exciting, and sometime you get easily bored, just like the book. Some parts of the book were kind of exciting, and some parts were just plain BORING.When the book got a little more exciting on a few parts (like at the end), it was like taking a quick breath above water, and quickly having to dive down again, meaning that more exciting parts were over very quickly. Friendship was a big topic in the book, and taught us a lot about apartheid as well and the tough times the blacks had during that time.

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Summary: An Eighth Grade Review
Review: We are a group of four. Waiting for the Rain was a book that we thougth that was both very good, and sometimes, badly written. We thought it had a very good story line, and the writer described everything realistically.
Some of the writers ideas, however could have been improved. The book was mainly based around Tengo. So, the writer didn't really develope Frikkie's character as much as Tengo's. Frikkie seemed like he wasn't real, because you never knew of he was angry or sad. The writer never mentioned what he was thinking.
In a way, she makes Tengo seem so perfect, and you begin to feel 'against' Tengo,' because you feel really guilty. You also begin to think that Frikkie is in the wrong for living the life he lived. For having Tengo's mom as a house maid. You feel sorry for the life that Tengo lived, and you can only feel so sorry that feel against the other person. She makes Tengo seem like too much of a victum.

Overall, we thought the book was a gripping, and a compelling novel. We would certainly recommend it for anyone.

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Summary: Kathy's review on Waiting For the Rain"
Review: This book was terribly boring and I only read it because it was required for Summer reading. Even my life is more exciting. Frikkie was really clueless about life around him and he was supposed to be so educated. All he thought about was spending time on that farm. Poor Tengo was the one with the brains which got him nowhere fast. The ending was a bummer. We'll never know how the boys lives turned out. I would have loved to have read what Oom Koos reaction was when Frikkie's head got bashed in by Tengo. Overall, it's a shame how the whites mistreated the blacks. The book teaches you that everyone is equal and life isn't always fair.

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Summary: a book about a friendship of a black and a white boy
Review: The story takes place in South Africa about 20 years ago.
Frikkie, an Afrikaner, whose uncle was running a farm, and Tengo, a black African boy, whose father was working for Frikkie's uncle at the farm used be good friends. At that time, South Africa was totally under the white people's control. And there was a discrimination against the black Africans. But it was changing. The black South Africans began to raise riot to get the power back from the white people. As the world changed, the friendship between Frikkie and Tengo was also changing.
After a few years, Frikkie and Tengo met again. They had changed a lot since the last time they met in childhood. Since they were on different sides and fighting for their own races, they couldn't be good friends anymore...
I think this is a good book to read. You can study about the history of South Africa while you read this book.

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Summary: I thought it was great!!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book our teacher made us read it and when we started we read it with the tape and it was very BORING!!!! yawn:sigh:yawn... LOL, but anyways after we got into the middle and part two it started to get better. Sheila Gordon tells the facts and shows just how mean people were treated she didn't try to put you in a comfort zone and I really liked that. I was glad she could just give me the facts. It did help to have a teacher print out a copy of vocab. and a list of Afrikkans terms because if you don't know thim you won't understand. My favorite part was when Tengo stodd up and told off the girl who called Ezekial a boy... (go tengo) anyways I think it was good, and you should read if you are into the whole segregation thing.

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Summary: Waiting for the Rain
Review: Waiting for the rain was a good book involving the racial discrimination in South Africa. In this book a white boy and a black boy who have been friends for as long as they can remember, but soon grow apart because of ideals. The book shows extremely well how the perspectives of one group can have a completely different view on an incident than another depending on the position in the situation. It also, in my opinion, shows what living in South Africa is really like discrimination and all. It plainly shows how many people do not realize something is wrong because to them it has always been that way and they were never told how wrong it was. It also shows how one person can make a change no matter how small that will make a great impact upon the people around it. The story in my opinion was one of the best stories I have ever read on discrimination.