Well, what a pleasant surprise this turned out to be.
A kiddie book with weather-themed magical girls and a farting cloud-cat in it? I'd put off reading it for a long time, one reason being I really didn't like the author's previous work, 'Amelia Fang'. But I couldn't get it out of my mind, and it looked cute, colourful and harmless enough, so I finally caved in and gave it a go.'Rainbow Grey' is actually a very creative, funny, dynamic and exciting book, that can be read in a day. I would definitely recommend it to any child. There are typos and other editing issues, but they are few and minor compared to the content.
A quick and to-the-point writing style, memorable characters, simple but fun and juicy and sparkly worldbuilding, wonderful creativity with all the weather inventions, devices, props, and naming conventions, and a literal earthshattering, stormy climax. What a tense battle it is for a book for eight-year-olds. Stormy and cathartic, with tornadoes and sunshine - rays of hope.
'Rainbow Grey' isn't all fun and playthings, however. It also contains important messages about self-confidence, never giving up, and always persevering towards your goal no matter what obstacles get in your way. And nobody is perfect. The protagonist Ray Grey embodies these life-affirming lessons to a T. What a stalwart, flawed, determined and reckless young heroine. Started out with no weather-based powers, unlike nearly all the other Weatherlings in her home in the clouds, the Weatherlands, in the City of Celestia, but of course she finds rainbow magic (on earth, on a dare) and transforms into the most powerful, and literally most colourful, Weatherling in the world. She is Rainbow Grey!
Her parents, Cloudia and Haze, are really cool, too, as are her two best friends, Snowden and Droplett (who is very funny, with many running gags to her character). Her exploding/farting cloud-cat Nim is a cute pet, transport, and additional friend in need.
Love - the love from her friends and family - is what will make Ray strong and a hero at the end, as well as her ancient, almighty weather powers she had just received.
Forgiveness and seeing the best, and the potential, in people is another surprising thing I did not expect from 'Rainbow Grey'. In context it is subversive, relieving and, again, cathartic, after everything that has gone down towards the end of the story.
It is all rather cheesy and obvious (it is still kids' lit), but Ill take it. It's cute, dramatic, and touching - what a combination 'Rainbow Grey' manages to achieve!
On to the flaws!:
I already mentioned the typos and unproofread editing in the placement of words in a few pages. There is the unresolved and forgotten issue of Ray, Snowden and Droplett, the main child Weatherling trio, stealing from the British Museum (called the Britolian Museum here, amusingly). The book is listed on some readers' LGBTQ+ shelves, probably because of the whole rainbow motif - rainbows are important in a lot of the story's aspects - and speaking of LBGTQ content, I think an opportunity was missed in not making Snowden, the effeminate, gender-nonconforming boy of Ray's trio of friends, trans or nonbinary. Think of that kind of rep in a children's book. But maybe actual queer content will be present in the sequels? I don't know.
In the world of 'Rainbow Grey', there exist exciting adventures and people with magical weather powers - they're superheroes, practically, and there are thousands of them - but they are ordinary citizens going about their lives in the Weatherlands in the clouds; hidden from humans, who have no idea where their weather - and eclipses and other phenomenon - really come from. There also exist unicorns, dragons (formed from the elements, mostly), duck-nadoes (seriously), knicker-nadoes (seriously, I adore this book), a posh talking pigeon, and, apparently, mer-pires. Mer-pires. As in, mermaid vampires? Holy snowflake-ity splosh. They're named but don't appear in the book. WHY?! I hope they do appear in the sequels. Otherwise, what is this series doing?!
'Rainbow Grey' - silly, cute, hilarious, chuckle-worthy, sweet, tender, compassionate, explosive (in nearly every sense), galvanic, and exhilarating. Reading it is like moving towards a giant storm - not knowing quite where the wind is going to blow next - and in the end, after enduring the deceptively-quiet-and-predictable eye of the storm, what remains is relief and tears of joy. And a lot to learn going forward.
What a sizzling yet soft rainbow treat! I'm glad to have read it.
Rain must come before the rainbow.
Never give up. Find your inner rainbow.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Never give up. Find your inner rainbow.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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