The Stormchasers (Wheeler Hardcover) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Jenna Blum (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wheeler Hardcover | Publication Date: September 22, 2010

The author of the runaway New York Times bestseller Those Who Save Us returns with a powerful novel about twins who must confront a dark secret from their past.

Jenna Blum's debut novel became a grassroots sensation and was a New York Times bestseller for more than a year. In this emotional and provocative new novel, Blum asks the question: How far would you go to protect a sibling-and at what cost to yourself?

As a teenager, Karena Jorge has always taken care of her twin brother, Charles. Obsessed with severe weather, Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder, begins chasing storms. Refusing to take his medication, Charles soon involves them both in a terrifying tornado chase-with deadly consequences.

Now, two decades later, Karena must find her long-estranged brother before he reveals the dark secret from their past or hurts himself-or someone else. But there is only one way to find him: the storms...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

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)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Twins Karena and Charles share an unbreakable bond—and a devastating secret. Twenty years ago, 18-year-old Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder, and his sister were out storm chasing when they collided with a motorcyclist. The two swore to each other they wouldn’t report the deadly incident to authorities; after all, they were legal adults and could do serious prison time. In the years that followed, the siblings disappeared from each other’s lives. Karena pursued a career as a newspaper reporter. Charles endured stints at various mental-health facilities and fed his true passion: chasing storms. (He always said that his mental state was akin to a tornado: terrifying and unpredictable as it spun out of control.) When Karena receives a distressing phone message about Charles, she ventures into the eye of the storm—literally—to find him. Blum (Those Who Save Us, 2005) intertwines two narratives: Karena’s search for Charles (and induction into the wild world of weather) and her recollections of their rocky childhood. The tales work together nicely in this moving, if occasionally overwrought, novel. --Allison Block --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 621 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; Lrg edition (September 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410429938
• ISBN-13: 978-1410429933
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,956,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JENNA BLUM is the New York Times bestselling author of THOSE WHO SAVE US (Harcourt, 2004) and THE STORMCHASERS (Dutton, 2010). Jenna is also one of Oprah readers' Top Thirty Women Authors. Jenna's debut novel, THOSE WHO SAVE US, was a New York Times bestseller; a Boston Globe bestseller; the winner of the Ribalow Prize, adjuged by Elie Wiesel; a Borders book club pick and a favorite with book clubs across the country. Jenna has visited over 800 book clubs in the Boston area alone! When Jenna is not in Boston, running master novel workshops for Grub Street Writers, she is traveling across the country to speak about THOSE WHO SAVE US and THE STORMCHASERS--Jenna's beloved, critically and reader-acclaimed second novel, which Jenna researched by chasing tornadoes for five years with professional stormchase company Tempest Tours. To find out when Jenna will be touching down in your neighborhood or to invite Jenna to your book club in person, via phone, or by Skype, please contact her at www.jennablum.com. You can also keep up with Jenna by following her on Twitter (Jenna_Blum), friending her on Facebook (Jenna Blum), or checking out her dog, Woodrow the Stormchasing Lab (who has his own Facebook page.)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Storms that unite and destroy, January 23, 2011

By 

David A. Sullivan (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stormchasers (Hardcover)

Storms are such an apt metaphor for this well-written novel that moves along as if caught in a tornado's cycling winds. There are the actual storms, brought to life with descriptive prose, full of color, fury and passion. Then there are the storms between characters, brother and sister, children and parents, boyfriend and girlfriend. And finally, there is the storm that rages in Charles' head, electric synapses firing in unpredictable sequences, connecting thoughts that do not appear logical and leading him to destructive behavior, both to himself and to others. I found this unifying metaphor to be very satisfying as a reader, it helped me to make connections among nature, human behavior and relationships, none of which are ever completely under our feeble mortal control. The lesson of this book is, in one word, humility, in the face of that which is much bigger than any of us. The sooner we accept that, the more at peace our life will be.

Brava, Jenna Blum!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swept away, September 9, 2010

By 

Jane Roper (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Stormchasers (Hardcover)

I absolutely devoured this book -- an intense, whirlwind (tornado?) of a family drama. Blum does an excellent and nuanced job of depicting the complexities of mental illness, and the devastating effects it can have on a family. She also brings the reader deftly into the world of storm chasing, hitting the right balance of detail (you feel like you're learning something) and adventure (you get a vicarious adrenaline rush!)

Blum keeps the stakes high throughout the book, with a sense of danger and foreboding building as the story of Karenna's past is revealed. There's also a delightfully sexy love story in the mix. Or maybe it just seemed extra sexy because of all the tornadoes?

In any case, I found Stormchasers to be a thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying read. Now, where do I sign up to go stormchasing?

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Would Chase This Storm, June 1, 2010

By 

E. Manning "EdmondM" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stormchasers (Hardcover)

I've never quite understood those insanos who find fascination in chasing a dangerous storm, but now I do. Jenna Blum's The Stormchasers, left me with a rich understanding of the kind of people this hobby attracts and it's not who I thought. Originally, I thought of the Midwestern surfer types who have no ocean, and the washed up scientists hunting for the 'big storm' like a data junkie. The movie Twister already covered that. But Blum's book delves beyond those silly stereotypes to provide a rich community of those who love to be humbled by the raw animal nature of god-like lightning and who get excited by the earthy smell of ozone in the air.

By the last storm, I realized I was completely hooked on chasing down that big storm.

I was surprised by the richness of this metaphor in exploring one of the main character's mental problems. At first, I was like, wild storm = charismatic, crazy guy. Got it. But then as we learn more about the enigmatic Charles through the eyes of his sister Karena, the complexity of the storms matches suit. I was delighted to peel layer of layer off the metaphor to see more similarities between Charles and impenetrable storms. I have never understood the power and chaos of a bipolar disorder.

I expected a romance in the book, but I didn't expect to enjoy it so much. The character of Kevin is completely believable, huggable, and as square and wonderful as you could imagine a high school science teacher to be. The chemistry between Kevin and narrator Karena is really fun to watch unfold, answering the aging-old question, how do you flirt when you're over 30? Fascinating and playful.

I loved Blum's first novel, Those Who Save Us, and was appropriately horrified by some of the sad and beautiful descriptions of brutal inhumanity. I did not know if Blum could pull off writing about a subject with less wild drama than the Nazis.

Turns out, she can.

Read this.