Rain Village (2006) by Carolyn Turgeon follows the coming-of-age journey of Tessa Riley, an abused and neglected girl from rural Kansas, who finds hope and transformation through an unlikely mentor, Mary Finn. Set in the early 20th century, the novel explores Tessa's escape from her harsh home life to join a glamorous Mexican circus, where she becomes a trapeze artist. With vivid descriptions, the novel blends realism with a heightened sense of magic, though some readers find the style repetitive. As Tessa grows, she grapples with her traumatic past, including abuse, and searches for answers about Mary's mysterious past, culminating in a journey to Rain Village, where the truth about Mary's relationship with a drowned man remains elusive, but Tessa finds a deeper sense of self.
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