Taken by Storm (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Taken by Storm Karen Coats Morrison, Angela Taken by Storm. Razorbill, 2009 [304p] ISBN 978-1-59514-238-2$16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 Michael's idyllic life as beloved only child of wealthy parents came to a stormy end with hurricane Isadore, which smashed into Michael's family's boat and robbed him of both his parents and his confidence. Leesie is a beautiful, chaste Mormon farm girl in a small Washington town, dreaming about going to BYU and writing poems about the joys of her faith and how it keeps her on the straight and narrow—until Michael arrives in town to live with his grandmother. Leesie's missionary streak makes her think she can help Michael through his grief, but it's her no-tongue kisses rather than her faith that begin to bring Michael out of his suicidal depression; however, Michael is pretty sure he can't feel love until he makes love, something that is out of the question for Leesie. Readers learn Michael's view of the situation through entries in his dive log; Leesie's perspective on their uneven relationship comes through her poems and online chats with Michael and with a decidedly non-Mormon friend whose backstory or connection with Leesie, other than that they share their writing, is never provided. Giving all due deference to his justifiable grief, Michael still emerges as a horny, self-centered egoist, and the couple's relationship, which Leesie romanticizes through moving, well-wrought poetry, follows the rhythm of his needs alone, even to the point where Leesie is willing to forego a full scholarship to BYU because he doesn't want her to leave him. Fortunately, the romance plot takes an unexpected turn that preserves the apple-cheeked sensibility of the wholesomeness of Mormon teens, delivers Leesie from life with an insensitive jerk, and still gives her a check mark in the do-good-works column. Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois