1. Bibliography
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2001. Rain Is Not My Indian Name. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-688-17397-7.
2. Plot summary
On the eve of her 14th birthday Rain Berghoff is surprised to discover she is in love with the boy who has been her best friend since grade school. She decides that her birthday, New Year’s Eve, will be the perfect time to show Galen how she feels by kissing him. The evening arrives and Rain and Galen run breathlessly to the playground where they spent so much time as children. At the stroke of midnight they kiss and, worried they will be late, go their separate ways home instead of staying together as they had promised their parents. When Rain wakes up on New Year’s Day, excited about the future, she learns that Galen is dead; hit by a car as he ran across the street on his way home the night before. Rain shuts down. She continues to go through the motions of living, but she is no longer interested in participating in anything she did when Galen was alive. She refuses to talk, see her friends, or take part in the Indian Camp her aunt Georgia sponsors each year. When the mostly white community threatens to cancel funding for the camp due to the small number of Native-American teens in the population; Rain must decide if she can find a way to honor her responsibilities as a Native-American without losing her memories of Galen.
3. Critical analysis
Cynthia Leitich Smith has written a contemporary story of a teenage girl with teenage problems. However, Rain Berghoff’s problems are more intense than the average teen. Her mother, a full-blood Ojibway, is dead; leaving her motherless and feeling disconnected from her heritage. Her best friend, the boy she may have been falling in love with, is also dead; leaving her feeling disconnected from life. The cultural markers in Rain Is Not My Indian Name center on Rain and the mostly white community where she was born and is growing up; how she feels about being Native-American and how the white community feels about her. Rain is often told she does not “look Indian” and is unsure how to respond. She wonders why Native-Americans must look a certain way when others cultures are not judged in this way. Flash, the newspaper intern who is working with Rain on a story about the summer camp for Native-American youth, has many stereotypical ideas. When Rain tells him they must ask the Native youth involved with the summer camp if it is alright to take pictures of the camp activities Flash assumes it is because they do not want their pictures taken “because it will steal their souls.” Rain is dumb-founded that she must explain to him the reason they must ask is because it is “the polite thing to do.” Mrs. Owen, Galen’s mother, is determined to be elected mayor and is using the Indian camp as one of her platforms. She feels community funds should not be spent to support a program geared toward a cultural group with so few members. There are only nine Native-Americans in the town, she argues, and it would be a waste of taxpayer’s money to fund an event that benefits so few. She does not understand the need for the Native-American teen’s to stay connected to their heritage; something all Native-Americans have been struggling with since white settlers invaded their land. Rain’s own father hinted that her older brother Flynn should not mention his Native-American heritage on his college application. Rain has fond memories of traveling to tribal get-togethers with her mother, talking with her brother, and her uncle Ed. And while the food involved with these memories may be chili-cheese dogs, corn chips, and McDonald's take-out the importance of food and the tribal community is at the center of her memories. Rain learns that it is not important to “look like an Indian”, and huge numbers are not necessary to maintain the tribal community; knowing and valuing her heritage will ensure the community’s survival. Teens will identify with Rain as she deals with prejudice and loss while attempting to find her place in the world.
4. Review excerpts
Publishers Weekly: “Multiple plot lines and nonlinear storytelling may make it difficult to enter Smith's (Jingle Dancer) complex novel, but the warmth and texture of the writing eventually serve as ample reward for readers. The sensitive yet witty narrator, 14-year-old Cassidy Rain Berghoff, grows up in a small Kansas town as one of the few people with some Native American heritage. That experience alone might challenge Rain, but Smith creates a welter of conflicts. Rain's mother is dead (she was struck by lightning), and as the novel opens, her best friend is killed in a car accident just after he and Rain realize their friendship has grown into romance. Readers will feel the affection of Rain's loose-knit family and admire the way that they, like the author with the audience, allow Rain to draw her own conclusions about who she is and what her heritage means to her. Ages 10-14.”
School Library Journal: “Grade 5-9-Rain and Galen have been friends forever, but for Rain's 14th birthday, the thrill of finding that her burgeoning romantic feelings are being reciprocated puts the evening into a special-memory category. The next morning, she learns that Galen was killed in an accident on the way home. Plunged into despair, Rain refuses to attend the funeral and cuts herself off from her friends. Skipping to six months later, the main portion of the story takes place as she thinks about Galen's upcoming birthday and summer plans are complicated by the girl's Aunt Georgia's Indian Camp and political efforts to cut its funding. It is one of the best portrayals around of kids whose heritage is mixed but still very important in their lives. As feelings about the public funding of Indian Camp heat up, the emotions and values of the characters remain crystal clear and completely in focus. It's Rain's story and she cannot be reduced to simple labels.”5. Connections
Reader’s Advisory suggestions for those who enjoyed Rain Is Not My Indian Name:
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2001. Rain Is Not My Indian Name. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-688-17397-7.
2. Plot summary
On the eve of her 14th birthday Rain Berghoff is surprised to discover she is in love with the boy who has been her best friend since grade school. She decides that her birthday, New Year’s Eve, will be the perfect time to show Galen how she feels by kissing him. The evening arrives and Rain and Galen run breathlessly to the playground where they spent so much time as children. At the stroke of midnight they kiss and, worried they will be late, go their separate ways home instead of staying together as they had promised their parents. When Rain wakes up on New Year’s Day, excited about the future, she learns that Galen is dead; hit by a car as he ran across the street on his way home the night before. Rain shuts down. She continues to go through the motions of living, but she is no longer interested in participating in anything she did when Galen was alive. She refuses to talk, see her friends, or take part in the Indian Camp her aunt Georgia sponsors each year. When the mostly white community threatens to cancel funding for the camp due to the small number of Native-American teens in the population; Rain must decide if she can find a way to honor her responsibilities as a Native-American without losing her memories of Galen.
3. Critical analysis
Cynthia Leitich Smith has written a contemporary story of a teenage girl with teenage problems. However, Rain Berghoff’s problems are more intense than the average teen. Her mother, a full-blood Ojibway, is dead; leaving her motherless and feeling disconnected from her heritage. Her best friend, the boy she may have been falling in love with, is also dead; leaving her feeling disconnected from life. The cultural markers in Rain Is Not My Indian Name center on Rain and the mostly white community where she was born and is growing up; how she feels about being Native-American and how the white community feels about her. Rain is often told she does not “look Indian” and is unsure how to respond. She wonders why Native-Americans must look a certain way when others cultures are not judged in this way. Flash, the newspaper intern who is working with Rain on a story about the summer camp for Native-American youth, has many stereotypical ideas. When Rain tells him they must ask the Native youth involved with the summer camp if it is alright to take pictures of the camp activities Flash assumes it is because they do not want their pictures taken “because it will steal their souls.” Rain is dumb-founded that she must explain to him the reason they must ask is because it is “the polite thing to do.” Mrs. Owen, Galen’s mother, is determined to be elected mayor and is using the Indian camp as one of her platforms. She feels community funds should not be spent to support a program geared toward a cultural group with so few members. There are only nine Native-Americans in the town, she argues, and it would be a waste of taxpayer’s money to fund an event that benefits so few. She does not understand the need for the Native-American teen’s to stay connected to their heritage; something all Native-Americans have been struggling with since white settlers invaded their land. Rain’s own father hinted that her older brother Flynn should not mention his Native-American heritage on his college application. Rain has fond memories of traveling to tribal get-togethers with her mother, talking with her brother, and her uncle Ed. And while the food involved with these memories may be chili-cheese dogs, corn chips, and McDonald's take-out the importance of food and the tribal community is at the center of her memories. Rain learns that it is not important to “look like an Indian”, and huge numbers are not necessary to maintain the tribal community; knowing and valuing her heritage will ensure the community’s survival. Teens will identify with Rain as she deals with prejudice and loss while attempting to find her place in the world.
4. Review excerpts
Publishers Weekly: “Multiple plot lines and nonlinear storytelling may make it difficult to enter Smith's (Jingle Dancer) complex novel, but the warmth and texture of the writing eventually serve as ample reward for readers. The sensitive yet witty narrator, 14-year-old Cassidy Rain Berghoff, grows up in a small Kansas town as one of the few people with some Native American heritage. That experience alone might challenge Rain, but Smith creates a welter of conflicts. Rain's mother is dead (she was struck by lightning), and as the novel opens, her best friend is killed in a car accident just after he and Rain realize their friendship has grown into romance. Readers will feel the affection of Rain's loose-knit family and admire the way that they, like the author with the audience, allow Rain to draw her own conclusions about who she is and what her heritage means to her. Ages 10-14.”
School Library Journal: “Grade 5-9-Rain and Galen have been friends forever, but for Rain's 14th birthday, the thrill of finding that her burgeoning romantic feelings are being reciprocated puts the evening into a special-memory category. The next morning, she learns that Galen was killed in an accident on the way home. Plunged into despair, Rain refuses to attend the funeral and cuts herself off from her friends. Skipping to six months later, the main portion of the story takes place as she thinks about Galen's upcoming birthday and summer plans are complicated by the girl's Aunt Georgia's Indian Camp and political efforts to cut its funding. It is one of the best portrayals around of kids whose heritage is mixed but still very important in their lives. As feelings about the public funding of Indian Camp heat up, the emotions and values of the characters remain crystal clear and completely in focus. It's Rain's story and she cannot be reduced to simple labels.”5. Connections
Reader’s Advisory suggestions for those who enjoyed Rain Is Not My Indian Name:
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
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