If It Rains Again Tomorrow, Can We Go Home?

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Twelve-year-old Sheila Conrad’s summer vacation plans are upset when
her recently separated mother decides they should spend the summer in a
log house near Peers, Alberta, a place where she had spent pleasant
childhood summers. Much to Sheila’s annoyance, the house, built in the
early 1900s, lacks flush toilets, running water, and electricity. After
several days of solid rain, a frustrated Sheila utters the words of the
book’s title. Her situation improves when she and her younger brother
discover that the neighboring farm has three children, one a potential
boyfriend for Sheila. Over the course of the episodic story, friendships
are cemented, and Sheila not only has a summer romance but also conquers
her lifelong fear of water.

This convincing exploration of the turbulence of adolescent friendships
and the sometimes embarrassing moments of young love will appeal
especially to a pre-junior-high female audience. Recommended.