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Bring Down The Rain
Derek discovers going to high school in Utah is vastly different than in North Carolina. After an accident ends his dreams of playing in the major leagues, he starts his senior year by trying to figure out what to do with his life. Derek begins to date Tiffany, the school paper’s news editor. With her help, he learns the importance of a concept he never fully understood: sacrifice.
Set in 1986, “Bring Down The Rain” is a story of loss, grief, redemption, hope, and making life altering choices.
Set in 1986, “Bring Down The Rain” is a story of loss, grief, redemption, hope, and making life altering choices.
280 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 2014
302 people want to read
About the author
J. Lloyd Morgan
22 books43 followersJ. Lloyd Morgan is a best-selling author and English Professor. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Communications and a minor in English. Morgan earned a Master’s degree in Creative Writing in 2014. He has lived all over the United States, but now resides in North Carolina with his wife and four daughters. Aside from writing, Morgan is an avid reader. He’s also a huge fan of baseball and enjoys listening to music.
Aside from Darker the Shadow, Morgan’s other published novels include The Bariwon Chronicles (The Hidden Sun, The Waxing Moon, The Zealous Star), Wall of Faith, Bring Down the Rain, and The Mirror of the Soul written in conjunction with musician Chris de Burgh.
His published short stories include “Howler King,” “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” “With Bells On” and award-winning “The Doughnut.”
An anthology of short stories, observations and insights called The Night the Port-A-Potty Burned Down and Other Stories was released at the end of 2012.
Aside from Darker the Shadow, Morgan’s other published novels include The Bariwon Chronicles (The Hidden Sun, The Waxing Moon, The Zealous Star), Wall of Faith, Bring Down the Rain, and The Mirror of the Soul written in conjunction with musician Chris de Burgh.
His published short stories include “Howler King,” “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” “With Bells On” and award-winning “The Doughnut.”
An anthology of short stories, observations and insights called The Night the Port-A-Potty Burned Down and Other Stories was released at the end of 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 4, 2014
I am going to start things off by stating that I have never read a book by J. lloyd Morgan. When I first saw the cover I thought that this would be a book all about baseball, but I was wrong. After a car accident, Derek’s life changes and is never the same. With a broken leg his dreams are shattered of playing baseball in college. His mother and him are also mourning the loss of his father. Derek and his mom then move from North Carolina to Utah. Having lived in North Carolina for a while myself, I can see how Utah would be a HUGE change for Derek. When he gets there and settles in he begins to date a girl named Tiffany. She just so happens to be the editor of the school newspaper. Tiffany’s friend Mabel is doing some snooping as to what is going on with the finances in the school. I loved that Derek and Tiffany work togethre to figure a lot of different situations out. This is what I meant when I said that I was wrong when I thought it was going to be a book that was all about baseball.
I will now be picking up more books by this author because I loved his writing style and his wit. the relationship that he formed between Derek and Tiffany was classic and I loved reading every moment of it. Derek ends up becoming the radio station’s engineer and fixing all sorts of stuff when it breaks. I also really liked that this story took place back in the 1980s. Not that I don’t like a good modern day story, but itis just something about when a story is set in a different decade that draws me in even more. This was definitely a five star book and I will be reading more from this author in the near future!
I will now be picking up more books by this author because I loved his writing style and his wit. the relationship that he formed between Derek and Tiffany was classic and I loved reading every moment of it. Derek ends up becoming the radio station’s engineer and fixing all sorts of stuff when it breaks. I also really liked that this story took place back in the 1980s. Not that I don’t like a good modern day story, but itis just something about when a story is set in a different decade that draws me in even more. This was definitely a five star book and I will be reading more from this author in the near future!
July 15, 2014
Bring Down the Rain is not the usual type of book that bestselling author J. Lloyd Morgan has written in the past. The inspiration for the book came after he finished writing Wall of Faith, which according to him was “an extremely personal book and quite emotional to write.” It was his desire to write a more upbeat, fun story that takes place in high school that birthed this wonderful story.
Set in 1986 in Utah, Derek and his family had moved from North Carolina and attending the Orem High School as a new senior student was difficult enough. But it was a school which has its own history of his parents for the seventeen-year-old teenager. As the story unfolds, Derek discovered new things which have profound impact on his life. In Bring Down the Rain, J. Lloyd Morgan writes a story that will help you discover new and deeper meanings to the ways of life through this beautiful story of love, hope and redemption. It is a wonderful story that will pull you right through to the end.
Set in 1986 in Utah, Derek and his family had moved from North Carolina and attending the Orem High School as a new senior student was difficult enough. But it was a school which has its own history of his parents for the seventeen-year-old teenager. As the story unfolds, Derek discovered new things which have profound impact on his life. In Bring Down the Rain, J. Lloyd Morgan writes a story that will help you discover new and deeper meanings to the ways of life through this beautiful story of love, hope and redemption. It is a wonderful story that will pull you right through to the end.
July 25, 2016
I wrote it. Yeah, I think it is wonderful.
November 1, 2022
Wish I could give it 4.5 stars. I don't give out many 5* but feel this book is better than 4.
January 29, 2016
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Bring Down the Rain. This fact did not influence my opinion of the book.
First things first—the plot. After an awful car accident in which he loses his dad and badly injures his leg, Derek Christmas’s life is not the same at all. He and his mom are grieving for his dad, and with his injured leg he can no longer pursue his dreams of landing an athletic scholarship for playing baseball in college. Derek and his mom move from their home in North Carolina to Orem, Utah. There Derek discovers that high school in Utah is much different from what he’s used to. He begins dating the school’s newspaper editor, a girl named Tiffany, and she helps him open up and start to cope with the grief of losing his dad. Meanwhile, Tiffany’s friend Mabel is investigating the financials behind the football team’s new uniforms—something doesn’t add up. Together, Derek and Tiffany discover some important life lessons about sacrifice, honesty, and doing the right thing even when it hurts.
I’ve read several of J Lloyd Morgan’s books now, and he has yet to disappoint me. He has a great sense of humor, and that shows through in Derek’s witty comments; I kept laughing out loud while I was reading. I also liked the relationship between Derek and Tiffany. It was everything a relationship should be—honest, kind, and respectful. Derek and Tiffany each had some emotional issues, and they helped each other deal with them without pressuring each other or making each other feel like their feelings were unreasonable.
Another thing I liked about Bring Down the Rain was Derek’s ingenuity with electronics. He ends up becoming the radio station’s engineer, meaning he’s the one who fixes stuff when it breaks. The story takes place in the 1980s, so it was interesting for me to read about Derek fixing equipment that would be considered old-fashioned by today’s standards. (Not that I have any expertise with electronics. I just know a lot has changed since the ‘80s.)
One of my favorite things about J Lloyd Morgan’s stories is that he always manages to sneak an important life lesson in without sounding preachy or self-righteous. Toward the end of the book, Derek has to make a decision that will determine whether he gets a scholarship that will enable him to go to college. In order to get the scholarship, he has to be dishonest. Tiffany helps him realize that the true meaning of sacrifice is giving up something good—the scholarship—for something better—his integrity. I thought the whole story was very meaningful and definitely something I would recommend to anyone who asked. Definitely a five-star book.
First things first—the plot. After an awful car accident in which he loses his dad and badly injures his leg, Derek Christmas’s life is not the same at all. He and his mom are grieving for his dad, and with his injured leg he can no longer pursue his dreams of landing an athletic scholarship for playing baseball in college. Derek and his mom move from their home in North Carolina to Orem, Utah. There Derek discovers that high school in Utah is much different from what he’s used to. He begins dating the school’s newspaper editor, a girl named Tiffany, and she helps him open up and start to cope with the grief of losing his dad. Meanwhile, Tiffany’s friend Mabel is investigating the financials behind the football team’s new uniforms—something doesn’t add up. Together, Derek and Tiffany discover some important life lessons about sacrifice, honesty, and doing the right thing even when it hurts.
I’ve read several of J Lloyd Morgan’s books now, and he has yet to disappoint me. He has a great sense of humor, and that shows through in Derek’s witty comments; I kept laughing out loud while I was reading. I also liked the relationship between Derek and Tiffany. It was everything a relationship should be—honest, kind, and respectful. Derek and Tiffany each had some emotional issues, and they helped each other deal with them without pressuring each other or making each other feel like their feelings were unreasonable.
Another thing I liked about Bring Down the Rain was Derek’s ingenuity with electronics. He ends up becoming the radio station’s engineer, meaning he’s the one who fixes stuff when it breaks. The story takes place in the 1980s, so it was interesting for me to read about Derek fixing equipment that would be considered old-fashioned by today’s standards. (Not that I have any expertise with electronics. I just know a lot has changed since the ‘80s.)
One of my favorite things about J Lloyd Morgan’s stories is that he always manages to sneak an important life lesson in without sounding preachy or self-righteous. Toward the end of the book, Derek has to make a decision that will determine whether he gets a scholarship that will enable him to go to college. In order to get the scholarship, he has to be dishonest. Tiffany helps him realize that the true meaning of sacrifice is giving up something good—the scholarship—for something better—his integrity. I thought the whole story was very meaningful and definitely something I would recommend to anyone who asked. Definitely a five-star book.
October 24, 2014
The "about the book" is REALLY brief... and I don't want to give away too much of the story. Just know that from chapter 1 this book went in a totally different direction than I expected. Derek's story made the mom in me broken-hearted. This was an amazing story of learning about true sacrifice... but it also touched heavily on so many major topics; the importance of trust, of talking things out, of being a good listener, of putting others first, of thinking before you speak, on dealing with grief and loss, and the importance of family and friends, and developing a true sense of values and morals to just be a good person. I can imagine this book being a wonderful addition to school English course.
I have to say... for the most part... I was really disgusted with the way Derek's new school in Utah was run. I understand that if a family doesn't share the circumstances that have brought them moving across the country and starting at a school, the school can't do anything about that. But, it seemed like the majority of the administration and staff were just horribly behaved people. I can see the Vice Principal that Derek met with on his first day dealt HORRIBLY and IMMATURELY with an OLD personal vendetta.... but otherwise, the school staff was just pretty rude to a new student. (How does a man like that get put in charge of teaching and shaping teenagers?) And... on the small side... it absolutely bugs me to no end that the permission slip didn't say WHERE THE FIELD WAS GOING. (Read the book... you'll understand.)
I have to say... for the most part... I was really disgusted with the way Derek's new school in Utah was run. I understand that if a family doesn't share the circumstances that have brought them moving across the country and starting at a school, the school can't do anything about that. But, it seemed like the majority of the administration and staff were just horribly behaved people. I can see the Vice Principal that Derek met with on his first day dealt HORRIBLY and IMMATURELY with an OLD personal vendetta.... but otherwise, the school staff was just pretty rude to a new student. (How does a man like that get put in charge of teaching and shaping teenagers?) And... on the small side... it absolutely bugs me to no end that the permission slip didn't say WHERE THE FIELD WAS GOING. (Read the book... you'll understand.)
October 19, 2014
I really really enjoyed this book! When I first saw the cover for this book, I thought maybe it was going to be a story about nothing but baseball, but that quickly changed in the book! Don't get me wrong, I would have liked the book, I think, even if it were about baseball, because baseball is one of my favorite sports! Derek is damaged. He is not only damaged physically, but emotionally as well. I feel super bad for him! It can't be easy to move your senior year of high school to a completely different state than the one you were living in, where you have no friends and know no one at your new school! I was lucky enough to be able to spend from Kindergarten until I graduated with most of the same people (not that that's always a great thing... but you get my drift, right?!)
I absolutely love how well written this book is and how it gets into your sense of honesty! I thoroughly enjoyed the book & I have a feeling it will be one I read again and again!
I absolutely love how well written this book is and how it gets into your sense of honesty! I thoroughly enjoyed the book & I have a feeling it will be one I read again and again!
October 15, 2014
A very refreshing read with the plot being centered around a subject that is clearly important to this writer. Readers will appreciate the diversity in the experiences of each character while difficult decisions are presented in how to deal with them. Derek and Tiffany not only support each other but are able to impart wisdom and insight while demonstrating key ideas like sacrifice and integrity to work through choices that many will be able to relate to.
Morgan has successfully completed another moving, compelling and satisfying novel by advocating on topics that don’t come across as overly persuading or lecturing. ‘Bring Down the Rain’ is an unforgettable and extraordinary book that is highly recommended for readers of all ages. If this is your first by Morgan, you will not be let down or disheartened when finished. A clever and witty story that will leave you wishing for more!
~The Book Stalker Reviewed
Morgan has successfully completed another moving, compelling and satisfying novel by advocating on topics that don’t come across as overly persuading or lecturing. ‘Bring Down the Rain’ is an unforgettable and extraordinary book that is highly recommended for readers of all ages. If this is your first by Morgan, you will not be let down or disheartened when finished. A clever and witty story that will leave you wishing for more!
~The Book Stalker Reviewed
October 21, 2014
This book was a wonderful coming of age book, mixed with the crushing grief of losing a close family member and rebuilding life from the ground up.
When Derek moves to Utah with his life and dreams shattered, he learns what it's like to start over, especially in a place where he's going to struggle simply because of who he's related to.
This book was poignant and hopeful at the same time, with quite a hefty dose of religion tossed it. Frankly, that's one of the two problems that I have with this book... it has a lot of religion in it for a mainstream book! I also really wanted the ending to be different, but I understand why the author chose to end it that way. However, I really hope he writes a sequel so things turn out the way that I hope!
I received this book to review through The Book Stalker. All thoughts are my own.
When Derek moves to Utah with his life and dreams shattered, he learns what it's like to start over, especially in a place where he's going to struggle simply because of who he's related to.
This book was poignant and hopeful at the same time, with quite a hefty dose of religion tossed it. Frankly, that's one of the two problems that I have with this book... it has a lot of religion in it for a mainstream book! I also really wanted the ending to be different, but I understand why the author chose to end it that way. However, I really hope he writes a sequel so things turn out the way that I hope!
I received this book to review through The Book Stalker. All thoughts are my own.
October 11, 2014
4.5/5.0
This is an excellent work of YA fiction with smooth Christian undertones.
Read full review in the 2014 October issue of InD’tale Magazine.
This is an excellent work of YA fiction with smooth Christian undertones.
Read full review in the 2014 October issue of InD’tale Magazine.
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September 5, 2014Read my review in the October release of InD'Tale's magazine. http://indtale.com/
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews