DANCING IN THE RAIN

Two Dominican children, one in the Dominican Republic and one in the United States, find their lives intertwined following the 9/11 attacks.

Elizabeth, a 12-year-old girl living in the Dominican Republic, seizes each of life’s moments and milks all the joy she can find out of them. Then her life and family as she knows them are brought to a halt after the terrible events of Sept. 11, never to be the same again. Thousands of miles away lives 8-year-old Brandt, who finds his life and family also torn apart by the destruction of the twin towers. Following the attack, Brandt and his 13 year-old brother, Jared, move to Elizabeth’s island to escape the sadness that has consumed their lives since the tragedy. Brandt and Elizabeth find an immediate kindred connection with each other, and they go on to try to heal themselves and their families. Alternating chapters in Elizabeth’s and Brandt’s voices describe how the fall of the twin towers affects two Caribbean families so deeply, making readers feel it too. Beautifully placing moments of loss and grief on the page, Joseph turns tragedy into poetry and gives hope even in the darkest parts of these stories, linking the lives of the characters with almost musical orchestration.

This book will break readers’ hearts and then put them back together, in the best way.