The Stormchasers: A Novel [Paperback]

Jenna Blum (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 26, 2011

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...

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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 out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (April 26, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452297133
• ISBN-13: 978-0452297135
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #868,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JENNA BLUM is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of THOSE WHO SAVE US and THE STORMCHASERS; she is also one of Oprah's Top Thirty Women Writers. Jenna's debut novel THOSE WHO SAVE US is a New York Times bestseller; a Boston Globe bestseller; the winner of the 2005 Ribalow Prize, adjudged by Elie Wiesel; a BORDERS book club pick, a perennial book club favorite, and the # 1 bestselling novel in Holland in 2011--still on the Dutch bestseller list in 2012. Jenna's second novel, THE STORMCHASERS, is a Boston Globe bestseller, a Target Emerging Authors pick, and a bestseller in Holland and France.

Jenna has been writing since she was four and professionally since she was sixteen, when her short story "The Legacy of Frank Finklestein" won Seventeen Magazine's National Fiction Contest. Jenna is a graduate of Kenyon College (B.A., English) and Boston University (M.A., Creative Writing) and has taught creative and communications writing for 15 years, for Boston University and most recently for Grub Street Writers. Jenna was AGNI literary magazine's fiction editor for 5 years and now contributes the Friday Five-0 and Writer On The Road advice columns for Grub Street Daily. Jenna currently lives in Wichita, KS, with award-winning photographer Jim Reed and their black Lab, Woodrow. Jenna is researching her third novel and has just finished writing the screenplay for THOSE WHO SAVE US. She loves to visit book clubs in person, by phone, and via Skype. Please contact her on Facebook (Jenna Blum), on Twitter (@jenna_blum) and on her website, www.jennablum.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

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

By E. Manning

Format: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.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Ultimately unsatisfying... August 13, 2010

By Denise Crawford TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This book was not on the same level as Blum's previous work, Those Who Save Us. Although I enjoyed this narrative well enough at the beginning, the middle really dragged, and the ups and downs of reading about Karena dealing with obstinate Charles (the twin with severe bipolar illness) wore me out and ultimately bored me.

Although the metaphor of stormchasing and bipolar "storms" was apt, the relentless reminder to the reader of how Charles' illness affected his sister was overdone. I think most readers will be able to predict the outcome of the story once the "secret" is revealed. I did, however, enjoy the technical information about the development and science of storms, particularly tornadoes, since I live in the Midwest where this type of weather is common and often destructive.

Another reviewer has remarked about the fact that the two men in the book rarely use Karena's name. Her brother (and twin) calls her either "K" or "sistah", and her boyfriend refers to her as "Laredo" or some other term. I also found that annoying. I really never felt that I got involved with the characters in this novel -- they were very one dimensional and I found myself becoming irritated at times rather than empathizing with their plight. I was basically just glad to get to the wholly anticlimactic end.

I will wait patiently for Blum's next novel, and see if she can revert to the quality storytelling that made me a fan when I read her first book. Overall, just found The Stormchasers only mildly interesting, a bit disappointing, and would tell those who ask, "It's OK."

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Swept away September 9, 2010

By Jane Roper

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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?