Taken by Storm - Softcover

Morrison, Angela

3.62

1,094 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1595142746 ISBN 13: 9781595142740

Publisher: Razorbill, 2010

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When Michael, a deep sea diver whose parents have just died in a hurricane, arrives in town, Leesie, a devout Mormon, falls in love with him as she tries to help him overcome his grief, and then they must see if they can reconcile their very different beliefs.

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About the Author:

Angela Morrison grew up on a pig farm in Tekoa, Washington, which she used for Taken by Storm's setting. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in English and received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. She currently lives with her husband and four children in the Sonoran deserts of Scottsdale, Arizona, after living for eleven years in Canada, Switzerland, and Singapore.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 10 Up—Leesie is a beautiful, straight-laced Mormon desperate to escape high school and the boys who torment her there. Michael is a scuba diver whose parents were killed on a dive trip. He desperately longs to dive again, but terrifying flashbacks of the hurricane that killed his friends and family plague him. Leesie is drawn to Michael's brokenness—she feels she can save him. He is attracted to her purity and beauty. Soon, all the rules Leesie has found easy to obey in the past (no hot-and-heavy kissing, no dating an unbeliever, no sex) are no longer cut-and-dry, and her plan to attend BYU no longer seems so important. Both Michael and Leesie must figure out what matters most to them. This book explores the teens' relationship through poetry, instant messages, and journal entries. Although the format is clever, the author doesn't fully commit to sharing this story in the characters' own words. Leesie's poetry is full of emotion and does a great job of expressing her feelings, but Michael's journal entries are unconvincing as the writings of a grief-stricken teen. Also, he is selfish and disrespectful of Leesie's beliefs, and she is too willing to forgive him when he has sex with a classmate. Their relationship is uncomfortably codependent, and when the teens split up at the end, it is a relief.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO END

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