Riding Out the Storm [Paperback]

Claudia Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 2006

Fifteen-year-old Emily has never wondered if she's had past lives-she's too busy thinking about the life she's living. Between taking care of her horse Moonie, keeping up with homework, and fending off the school bully who picks on her best friend for being chubby, Emily's got enough on her plate. But after she nearly drowns in the new pool at her middle school, she begins having recurring nightmares that lead her to think that this life may not be her first.
"Riding out the Storm" is a modern tale that chronicles a young girl's journey into recalling a past-life and how she copes with the outcome. Spiritual and believable, this novel features a charismatic narrator who learns to listen to the signals around her and trust her instincts. Along her journey, Emily finds herself anxious to learn all she can about reincarnation, and she discovers the value of reaching out to not-so-unfamiliar strangers to repair relationships long interrupted.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8 At her grandma's funeral, Emily Clark, 13, wonders what death might mean is it the end or does the soul move on to another place? Then, on the first day of swimming in gym class, she nearly drowns, and the incident is followed by nightmares in which she is drowning, but not in a pool. When her parents take her to a therapist for a session of regression therapy, no one predicts the startling outcome. It appears that Emily was once a 21-year-old man who died in a boating accident in 1981. The rest of the story concerns her search for information about her past life as Michael. Her journey ends when she meets his family and friends. Along the way, Emily's Christian father has difficulty with his daughter's acceptance of reincarnation. The writing is average, but the pacing and plotting are good. A superfluous subplot about bullying doesn't help to advance the story. Still, readers with an interest in reincarnation will enjoy Jones's take on it and find Emily's experience an interesting one. Elaine Baran Black, Gwinnett County Public Library, Lawrenceville, GA
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About the Author

Claudia Jones (Royal, Arkansas) is a sixth-grade reading and writing teacher who has done considerable research on the subject of past-life regression.  Jones is the author of two additional books designed to give advice to parents from a professional teacher's perspective.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (April 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738708674
• ISBN-13: 978-0738708676
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,344,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Claudia Jones was born in Texas in 1950 and grew up in Connecticut, part of a family that enjoyed reading and playing with words. Like the main character in her book, Riding Out the Storm, Claudia, as a young teen, was known to hoist herself onto her horse's bare back and read while her horse wandered around the pasture, grazing. After graduating from Pitzer College in California, Claudia worked with disadvantaged kids at two children's homes, wrote a weekly column on parenting for an Idaho newspaper, and became a teacher. When her son was a preschooler, she stayed home and wrote two books to help parents get involved in their children's education. The first, Parents Are Teachers, Too, is being translated into Chinese this year. Claudia has lived in Arkansas for 24 years with her husband and son, and teaches sixth grade reading/writing workshop.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE TRUTH IS OUT, April 20, 2006

By 

Kysha M. Milhouse - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riding Out the Storm (Paperback)

THIS IS AN INTERESTING BOOK-THE AUTHOR TAKES US ON AN EMOTIONAL JOURNEY AND SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH EMILY'S EYES. SHE IS A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL WHO ALMOST LOSES HER LIFE TO FIND OUT THAT SHE HAS LIVED OTHER LIVES AS WELL. THE SPIRTUAL CONNECTION WITH EMILY IS REAL. THE TOPIC OF PAST LIVES IS REAL. THROUGH EMILY WE LEARN DREAMS ARE REAL AND HAVE SIGNIFICANCE. AS PARENTS WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE OUR CHILDREN TO TALK TO US AND SHARE THEIR DREAMS KNOWING THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. THIS BOOKS FOR BOYS, GIRLS AND ADULTS TOO.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely Read Making me Wonder About Reincarnation, February 9, 2010

By 

Beckie Weinheimer "Beckie" (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Riding Out the Storm (Paperback)

Yesterday I sat down to read Riding Out the Storm, with some apprehension. What did I really think about reincarnation? Was I ready to read a whole book with this as the theme?
The good news! I loved Claudia's book.I read it all in one sitting. It's engaging, has wonderful fully developed characters and is well written. What was most important to me as a skeptical reader, was that the characters had similar responses to reincarnation as mine. Questioning, doubting, and then in the end, concluding maybe?

I'll be the first to admit I don't know what is out there as far as God/Life After Death/Etc, and that I hate, hate, hate, anyone jamming their personal beliefs down my throat. Thankfully, Claudia did none of this. She did the exact opposite! She gave me an open minded, wonderful story, with heart, adventure and plot. I came away feeling that maybe reincarnation does exist, maybe it doesn't--but it is a lovely idea to muse about. So thank you Claudia for your excellent book!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read for Any Age, August 17, 2008

By 

N. Russ - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riding Out the Storm (Paperback)

Riding Out the Storm is a well-written, very readable story that deals with an unlikely subject for teenagers: reincarnation. While the main subject is handled well, the book is more than a story about reincarnation. The narrator is a self-described "plain," adopted 15-year-old living in a "normal" family--or perhaps not so normal, since it is a functional family, with a daughter who respects her parents, and parents who actually listen to their teenager. While dealing with the experience that leads to her hypnosis therapy and the discovery that she had a previous life, Emily goes on with her present life--riding the horse she loves, coping with a classmate who is the school bully, and handling conflicts with her best friend. The friend has a weight problem which she handles in a healthy way. The author knows how to weave a lot of insight into an interesting story. While it is clearly written for teenagers, the book is a good read for any age.