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The stormchasers : a novel
Blum, Jenna.
Adult Fiction BLUM
From Publishers' Weekly:
Blum (Those Who Save Us) visits Tornado Alley in this vivid novel about a set of twins with a dark history. At home in Minnesota, Karena Jorge gets an unexpected call informing her that her twin brother, Charles Hallingdahl, whom she hasn't seen in the 20 years since something went very wrong during a storm chase, has been admitted to a Kansas mental hospital. Charles suffers from rapid cycling bipolar disorder, and all Karena knows is that he refuses medication, he can be a danger to himself and others, and he is still obsessed with storm chasing. When she rushes to the clinic and finds he has already left, Karena joins a professional storm-chasing tour company, hoping to find her brother in the caravan of watchers who follow major storms. In the course of the tour, Karena confronts the past and the way it has shaped her life. The unpredictable and dangerous storms provide a framework for an exploration of the bond between siblings (and its limitations), and Blum renders the stormy backdrop as richly as she does her nuanced characters. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
Thirtysomething Minnesota newspaper reporter Karena Jorge is on a mission to Tornado Alley, ostensibly on assignment to cover a storm-chasing tour group but in reality on a quest to find her twin brother, Charles Hallingdahl, who is bipolar and has just been released from a Kansas hospital. Charles has been chasing storms of one form or another for the 20 years that Karena has been searching for him, ever since an unspeakable tragedy drove him away from home when they were 18. Karena knows that following the storm chasers is her best hope of finding him again. But she didn't know that she would fall for tour guide Kevin Weibke along the way or that he would have his own history with Charles. Mystery, romance, and adventure blend well in this meticulously researched tale. The author's use of the present tense for the main narrative and the extensive flashback can be unnerving and serves little purpose, but the pace and dialog are breezy enough by midpoint to carry the reader along. This is an honest depiction of mental illness told with all the pain, humor, hubris, and guilt that the "healthy" sibling bears. Verdict Undiscriminating women's fiction fans and those with a special interest in extreme weather should welcome Boston resident and creative writing instructor Blum's second novel (after Those Who Save Us). [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/10.]-Jenn B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll.-Northeast, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Blum, Jenna.
Adult Fiction BLUM
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From Publishers' Weekly:
Blum (Those Who Save Us) visits Tornado Alley in this vivid novel about a set of twins with a dark history. At home in Minnesota, Karena Jorge gets an unexpected call informing her that her twin brother, Charles Hallingdahl, whom she hasn't seen in the 20 years since something went very wrong during a storm chase, has been admitted to a Kansas mental hospital. Charles suffers from rapid cycling bipolar disorder, and all Karena knows is that he refuses medication, he can be a danger to himself and others, and he is still obsessed with storm chasing. When she rushes to the clinic and finds he has already left, Karena joins a professional storm-chasing tour company, hoping to find her brother in the caravan of watchers who follow major storms. In the course of the tour, Karena confronts the past and the way it has shaped her life. The unpredictable and dangerous storms provide a framework for an exploration of the bond between siblings (and its limitations), and Blum renders the stormy backdrop as richly as she does her nuanced characters. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
Thirtysomething Minnesota newspaper reporter Karena Jorge is on a mission to Tornado Alley, ostensibly on assignment to cover a storm-chasing tour group but in reality on a quest to find her twin brother, Charles Hallingdahl, who is bipolar and has just been released from a Kansas hospital. Charles has been chasing storms of one form or another for the 20 years that Karena has been searching for him, ever since an unspeakable tragedy drove him away from home when they were 18. Karena knows that following the storm chasers is her best hope of finding him again. But she didn't know that she would fall for tour guide Kevin Weibke along the way or that he would have his own history with Charles. Mystery, romance, and adventure blend well in this meticulously researched tale. The author's use of the present tense for the main narrative and the extensive flashback can be unnerving and serves little purpose, but the pace and dialog are breezy enough by midpoint to carry the reader along. This is an honest depiction of mental illness told with all the pain, humor, hubris, and guilt that the "healthy" sibling bears. Verdict Undiscriminating women's fiction fans and those with a special interest in extreme weather should welcome Boston resident and creative writing instructor Blum's second novel (after Those Who Save Us). [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/10.]-Jenn B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll.-Northeast, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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