Chasing Hurricanes • The Waiting Sky

The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication Date: August 2, 2012

Source: Borrowed from the library || Hardcover

All her life, Jane McAllister has lived with the knowledge that her mother is an alcoholic. Acting as the parent has become the norm to her, but will a summer chasing storms with her brother convince her that maybe there's more to life than just that?

People who chase storms have always managed to intrigue me. I’m in awe of their bravery in the face of this crazy chaos that Mother Nature can cook up, but I’m also thinking that they’re being reckless and risking their lives. It’s a fine line they manage to walk, and I’m certain I’m not the only one who finds the idea of storm chasing absolutely intriguing.

Reading The Waiting Sky actually reminded me of playing Nancy Drew: Trail of the Twister last year with one of my best friends. I had barely any idea of what storm chasing entailed, but the game gave me a pretty good idea of what was involved. The book did the same, though there weren’t too many storms being chased (which made me all kinds of sad). I got an even better look about what it meant to be involved in chasing storms with a team, including how competitive and scary things could get.

Jane, our main character, has very deep-rooted issues. This comes as no surprise because she’s the child of an alcoholic mother. I thought it was very interesting to look at what happens to the people who love and live with alcoholics, as I’ve never actually read a book about that before. It kind of broke my heart a little to see that Jane felt like she had to be the responsible adult and take care of her mom, who was almost like a child.

Even though it made me mad, I could understand why Jane had such difficulty extricating herself from the situation – she loved her mom and could practically live off the moments where her mom was in control of herself. I really wanted her to let go, for her mom’s sake, but it really tore at my heartstrings to imagine trying to distance yourself from someone you love and the reality that you’ve always known. I was as conflicted as Jane was while I read the book, and the fact I could empathize with her definitely made this book even more winning.

As for the other characters, I have brief thoughts about a few of them. Cat, for instance, is actually a good friend, who does try her best to convince Jane to take steps to remedy the home situation she lives with. Ethan, on the other hand, is a good big brother, though I don’t think the initial course of action he took with regards to his mom and Jane was very smart or well-planned. And Max sounds cute, but I wasn’t too big a fan of the fact that the romance just felt very instant to me. Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Tornado Brothers crew, and how I adored the family vibe they shared!

I think the best part of this entire novel is how a thoughtful comparison is implied between actual storms and the “storms” in Jane’s own life. The imagery was beautifully woven together, and it was very fitting for telling this particular story.

Though there was a distinct lack of actual storms being chased, there was enough going on in Jane’s world to make this book quite the read. I thoroughly enjoyed dipping into the world of storm chasers, but it was the story of Jane and the storms she weathered in life that really made it a stand out novel to me.