Sunday, November 13, 2011

Book review: The Stormchasers

Title: The stormchasers
Author: Jenna Blum
Genre: Contemporary fiction

First sentence reads: Karena Jorge's birthday starts as a quiet affair, but she doesnt mind.

Rating: 4/5



This book was a random pick at a book sale. The title, front cover and the synopsis drew me to this book. It has been a fabulous read.

The story goes at a steady pace and manages to sustain the suspense till the end. Karena Jorge has been separated from her twin brother for 20 years. He has been unpredictable  from young and suffered from bipolar disorder. The only consistency about Charles is his storm chasing tendency. So, on her 38th birthday Karena decides to look for him and signs up for a stormchasing whirlwind tour.

As the story unfolds of the tour group leaders, members and the various tidbits on storms and clouds, Karena gives us glimpse into the past, into her childhood. It was frustrating whenever Karena had near misses of finding her brother. However it all just built momentum on the climax of sister meeting her long lost brother. 

The ending was perfect and it fit well with the suspense of why Charles went missing years ago and all the sad episode that was the tipping point in both their young life. The stormchasing episodes in the tour, together with Karena's blossoming romance with tour guide Kevin were beautifully written. It's a book I highly recommend to anyone in search of a adventure, albeit from your own living room.

Favourite quotes:

"Nice Cu," Fern says.
"Sure is," says Karena absently. Then, "Wait, what's Cu?"
Fern laughs. "I keep forgetting you're a virgin," she says. She points with her cigarette to the white puffy clouds cruising over the truck stop.

Karena can't stop looking at this, the storm on one side, moon on the other. She never would have believed such a thing was possible, chaos and calm sharing the same sky.

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