WHO IS FRANCES RAIN?(The Haunting of Frances Rain? USA title)
Kids Can Press, Toronto, New York, 2006
ISBN (paperback) 0-919964-83-4
ISBN (USA hardcover)0-590-42834-9
ISBN (USA paperback) 0-590-42835-7
It's going to be a long, hot summer for 15-year-old Lizzie. Normally a vacation at her grandmother's northern Manitoba cottage is the highlight of the year, but this summer
the whole family is going along, including her new stepfather whom she detests.
To escape the family's bickering, Lizzie explores a nearby island, where she finds the remains of an old cabin and uncovers a pair of spectacles. When she tries on the old
glasses she is surprised to find herself watching a woman and girl from the past. Lizzie is determined to find out who these ghosts are, and why they are appearing to her.
Enlisting the help of her grandmother's teenage neighbour, Alex, she puts together clues about the ghosts' identities and in doing so, finds a way to help her estranged family
reunite. It's a compelling story, carrying young readers from the present to the past and back again.
Winner of the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Canadian Book Award,
First runner up in the Canadian Library Association Book if the Year Award
Nominated Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award
American Library Assoc Best Books of the Year Honour Book
Notable Canadian Young Adult Fiction Book
A few excerpts from reviews for WHO IS FRANCES RAIN?
REVIEW: Who is Frances Rain? is a thoroughly absorbing young adult novel filled with characters who are bound to intrigue teenagers. It’s full of the resonance of
Canadian summer, the mystique of forest and water, and is sure to linger in the reader’s mind long after the last page is turned. Children’s Book News
REVIEW: Who is Frances Rain? is as distinctly Canadian as the intoxicating lure of silent woods and wind-whipped lakes. The textures of the narrative and the
well-rounded characters are just as haunting as the ghosts Lizzie finds on Rain Island. It’s a ghost story with much to reveal to the thoughtful reader about the
turbulent emotions at work within families. It’s a novel that makes us grateful for a strong new voice in Canadian literature for young people, a voice we’ll want
to hear again soon. Quill and Quire
REVIEW: Who is Frances Rain? will probably be devoured by its young adult readers in one sitting. It deserves to be; this is an excellent book. Toronto Star
REVIEW: Buffie’s story is moody and atmospheric – the lake and the island are pungently, perfectly evoked. Lizzie’s encounters with ghosts are beautifully
handled, with just the right balance of eerie and emotional moments. Publishers Weekly
REVIEW: Superb tension, suspense, and mystery. Horn Book
REVIEW: In Who is Frances Rain? , Lizzie’s confident ironies work well to establish suspension and disbelief. In terms of telling (a story) Frances Rain wins
hands down the transparency of the ghosts is made doubly poignant by the fact that although Lizzie can see them both, they are unaware of each other Lizzie’s chatty
engaging style establishes an immediate rapport with the reader. London Times Educational Supplement
READERS' COMMENTS:
I found your book (Who is Frances Rain) VERY interesting,
and I especially liked how you used personification, metaphors and
similes to make your book seem to come alive. My favorite character in
your book was Lizzie, because you made her seem like a real-life person,
and the problems that she faced with her family are real problems that
could and probably have happened!...thank you for writing such a wonderful book,
for kids of all ages to read. A grade 7 student from Newfoundland
I am nineteen years old. I can remember the day (I received) the book
"Who is Frances Rain". I was slow at first to get into it, but once I started to read, I read the
whole thing in two days, never putting it down. It has turned out to be one of those books
you read over and over and you can skip a chapter because you've read it so many
times you know every page by heart. ...I have every novel she has ever written and read
most of them at least twice, minimal. I have gotten my younger sisters equally hooked on Ms. Buffie's
writing and spread the word shamelessly that I'd rather re-read any of these books than any new fancy
novels my peers get excited over ... At nineteen, I still place this author at the very
top of my amazing people list. A reader from Brandon Manitoba
My absolutely favourite book is "Who is Frances Rain?"
...I read it over and over again. It was that good!! I really
liked the developing suspence and how you led the characters
from event to event. Lizzie seems like an incredibly strong person.
How she coped with the betrayal of her father, and the "overly friendliness"
of Tim, her new stepfather.I think it would be cool if you made a sequel to
"Who is Frances Rain". It would be great to see what happens to Lizzie
when she goes home. Or maybe the story could take place a year later,
and they're back visiting Gran! That would be really cool! From a student who lives in Mississauga
Ontario.
...we are reading your novel "Who is Frances Rain? for a novel study.
I never thought it would be that interesting, but once I got reading it,
I didn't want to put it down.The story is so wonderful and
full of mystery, suspense and sadness.It is wonderful how your story
unfolds and answers the quesitons that you are dying to have answered.
"Who is Frances Rain" expresses many feelings that any person
in today's life would feel. The part in your story that made me cry
was when Tim left and when May told Elizabeth and Connie that Gran had
Angina Pectoris. I love Erica. She loved Tim so much and she had so
many feelings and she knows how to let her feelings out, let others
know how she was feeling, and how she felt about Tim, and I felt so
much like Lizzie when you introduced Tim into the story.
I thought he wasn't a nice guy and tried to butt into everything,
but as I read your book, I realized that Tim cared more about
Connie, Erica, Lizzie, Evan and Gran more than he cared about himself! I am
looking forward to reading all of your novels!
A grade seven student form Mississauga, Ontario
We just wanted to tell you that we LOVED your
book Who Is Frances Rain? It was very thrilling, and we couldn't
put it down. It was so good that we decided to do a project on it
for our Language Arts Fair that we have in our school every year.
Thank you for writing such a excellent book and we look forward to reading
more of your books in the future! Your Dedicated Readers! Nicole and Krystal
I read Who is Frances Rain? sometime
between 1991 and 1992, it now being the year 2006, I absolutely
could not believe how much I remembered! And how much that one book
seems to have lingered in my brain all these years. It took me
roughly 2-3 days to read it at the time, I could not put it down.
I can remember being so absorbed in the story I couldn't even hear
my mother calling me for supper one night. It's a wonderful book,
honestly one of my all time favourites. I was just recommending that
my neighbour's 9 year old daughter read it, which is what brought me
to your site. I thought that it would be nice for me to be able to
tell you that your book has made such a lasting impression on me!
Nearly 15 years is a long time to still be raving about this great
book I read in grade 5! Thank you so much for sharing that story.
Sincerely, Pam M.
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