Twelve-year-old Raine and her mother, Molly O’Rourke move from living with Raine’s grandfather in Milwaukee, WI, to an artist colony where her mother takes a job as a cook. Raine is not excited about moving at all. The situation gets only gets worse when she gets to Sparrow Road and discovers there are no televisions or phones. Raine is miserable until she becomes friends with Josie, one of the artists. Josie and Raine spend time together on Josie’s breaks. It is on one of their lunch breaks that Raine notices a strange man eating with Viktor, the owner of Sparrow Road. The man stares at Raine during the entire meal. When Raine gets back to her house, she sees her mom talking to Viktor and knows it is about the stranger.
After a few days Raine finally gets the courage to ask her mom about the man with Viktor. Raine gets her answer. The stranger is Raine’s dad, Gray James (Raine’s mom’s ex-husband). Raine is in shock because she didn’t remember that she had a dad. The next day, Raine is still thinking about Gray. Raine’s mom tells her that she can meet Gray if she wants. So Raine does. The day that Gray James walks into Sparrow Road is a scary one. Will Gray be able to answer questions about her past, or will he only open the door to more secrets?
I like Raine because she a very outgoing, inquisitive, fun, uncanny, and open-minded girl. Raine always likes to be in the middle of things but never wants to cause any trouble, If I knew Raine, I would want to be her friend because she seems trustworthy and loyal. That is sometimes hard to find in a person.
I think that my friends should read this story about a girl our age who loves to explore. The story is a mystery but not a scary one. My friends would like all the twists and turns in the plot, which makes is fun to read. The book is fast-paced which makes it easy to keep reading. I think that my friends would also like the story set in our times. *** ½
Review by Mary Grace