Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison

Title: Taken by Storm
Author: Angela Morrison
Year of Publication: 2009
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 291

First Line: "The dive starts perfect."

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Leesie Hunt has rules: No making out.  No sex.  And definitely no falling for a non-Mormon.  She pours all her passion into poetry, thoughts of escaping her tiny town and getting into her dream school, BYU.  Then Michael Walden arrives in Tekoa and everything changes.  He is a free diver, which means he can hold his breath for minutes at a time.  This is how he survived the storm that took his parents' lives, and the world as he knew it.  Leesie and Michael couldn't be more different: his dreams are tied to the depths of the ocean and hers to salvation above.  Yet they are drawn to each other, even when jealousy, unbearable rules, and haunting memories threaten to tear them apart.  Every time Michael goes diving, Leesie is afraid he'll never come back up.  He is drowning in tragedy and she knows it's up to her to save him.  Somehow.

Source: Back of book.

Review:  Morrison tells this story through switching points of view.  Though books written in this style are often not very good, I enjoyed Taken by Storm.  The characters were, perhaps, a but more mature than is realistic, but they were easy to relate to and otherwise well-written.  Morrison has an ability to make for a realistic setting and story despite the relatively extreme circumstances in which the plot takes place.  Maybe a bit self-indulgent, Morrison included several poems by Leesie which were well-written, but likely beyond the ability of a seventeen-year-old.  The book included a few more ups-and-downs than I prefer in a novel, but I was somewhat surprised by the ending especially compared to most YA literature I am exposed to.  Morrison is a little preachy but don't let that deter you from reading the book -- reading the novel will not convert you and I wouldn't categorize this as religious fiction.  Worth a read.

Worst part: I don't know that I love the format.

Best part:  Leesie as a character

Grade: B+

Other Books by This Author: Sing Me to Sleep and apparently some sequel/companion novels to Taken by Storm -- her website is not very clear.

Author's Website: Angela Morrison