Synopses & Reviews
Twins are forced to confront a violent secret from their past in Jenna Blum's first novel since her runaway bestseller, Those Who Save Us How far would you go to protect a sibling-and at what cost to yourself?
In Those Who Save Us, Jenna Blum proved herself a master storyteller with brilliant insight into the spectrum of human emotion. Now, Blum turns her sights to the most intimate and mysterious of family relationships-that between twins-in her powerful and provocative second novel.
As a teenager, Karena Jorge had always been the one to look out for her twin brother Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder. But as Charles begins to refuse medication and his manic tendencies worsen, Karena finds herself caught between her loyalty to her brother and her fear for his life. Always obsessed with the weather-enraptured by its magical unpredictability that seemed to mirror his own impulses—Charles starts chasing storms, and his behavior grows increasingly erratic . . . until a terrifying storm chase with Karena ends with deadly consequences, tearing the twins apart and changing both of their lives forever.
Two decades later, Karena gets a call from a psychiatric ward in Wichita, Kansas, to come pick up her brother, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to for twenty years. She soon discovers that Charles has lied to the doctors, taken medication that could make him dangerously manic, and disappeared again. Having exhausted every resource to try and track him down, Karena realizes she has only one last chance of finding him: the storms. Wherever the tornadoes are, that's where he'll be. Karena joins a team of professional stormchasers-passionate adventurers who will transform her life and give her a chance at love and redemption—and embarks on an odyssey to find her brother before he reveals the violent secret from their past and does more damage to himself . . . or to someone else.
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Review
"The outer landscape of Tornado Alley and the inner terrain of sibling devotion are brought vividly to life in Jenna Blum's new novel, a powerful story that reminds us that love is always a pursuit - one that demands, over and over again, that we put ourselves in harm's way."
-Stephanie Kallos, author of Broken for You and Sing Them Home
"I could not put down Jenna Blum's tornado of a novel about the secrets we keep from even those we love the most. Her heroine, Karena, is a fearless and fascinating companion on one hell of a ride."
-Amanda Eyre Ward, author of How to Be Lost and Love Stories in this Town
"Jenna Blum's novel, The Stormchasers, is an emotional rollercoaster of a story, the constant being Jenna's incredible descriptions of the beauty and awe of the most powerful natural force. The parallels Jenna draws between tornadoes and the human condition is genius and makes for a must-read novel."
-Reed Timmer, star of Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers.
"A somber, effective portrait of twins [and] a meticulous portrait of bipolar disorder and the heartbreaking damage it does to those it affects. . . . Beautifully rendered. . . . A strong second novel."
-Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Twins are forced to confront a violent secret from their past in Jenna Blum's first novel since her runaway bestseller,
Those Who Save Us.
How far would you go to protect a sibling — and at what cost to yourself?
In Those Who Save Us, Jenna Blum proved herself a master storyteller with brilliant insight into the spectrum of human emotion. Now, Blum turns her sights to the most intimate and mysterious of family relationships-that between twins — in her powerful and provocative second novel.
As a teenager, Karena Jorge had always been the one to look out for her twin brother Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder. But as Charles begins to refuse medication and his manic tendencies worsen, Karena finds herself caught between her loyalty to her brother and her fear for his life. Always obsessed with the weather — enraptured by its magical unpredictability that seemed to mirror his own impulses — Charles starts chasing storms, and his behavior grows increasingly erratic... until a terrifying storm chase with Karena ends with deadly consequences, tearing the twins apart and changing both of their lives forever.
Two decades later, Karena gets a call from a psychiatric ward in Wichita, Kansas, to come pick up her brother, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to for twenty years. She soon discovers that Charles has lied to the doctors, taken medication that could make him dangerously manic, and disappeared again. Having exhausted every resource to try and track him down, Karena realizes she has only one last chance of finding him: the storms. Wherever the tornadoes are, that's where he'll be. Karena joins a team of professional storm-chasers — passionate adventurers who will transform her life and give her a chance at love and redemption — and embarks on an odyssey to find her brother before he reveals the violent secret from their past and does more damage to himself... or to someone else.
Synopsis
The author of the runaway bestseller Those Who Save Us returns and sets her sights on the most intimate and mysterious of family relationships — that between twins — in her powerful and provocative second novel.
Synopsis
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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About the Author
Jenna Blum is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel
Those Who Save Us. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and teaches creative writing.