Rain

I read this in prerelease & was asked to review it. However- I really enjoyed reading it. It's one of those books whose characters still sometimes interlace my thoughts. It's sort of a chick flick in a novel (but clean- what a relief!!), and more of an epic sweep than most chick flicks (& also happens to be set on an already human inhabited Mars which is relevant to the plot but not in any annoying "only about the science" sort of way). The plot is about 2 recent college graduates in botany who both are at turning points in life. The second half is sort of a sequel to the first, so the book is like a short novel and a sequel together. The second half is pretty different than the 1st half- slower paced, & references more science fiction & technology (which don't interest me as much as human relationships do so went a little too slow for my tastes in a couple of chapters). But the characters are still very relatable and the slower pace doesn't detract from the meaningfulness of what's going on (it's just sort of more introspective). I loved the ending- very sweet & ties both halves together beautifully.