Review: Amazing contemporary you don't want to miss
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 30, 2013
`Waiting for the Storm' is a quiet book; it's an emotional story about grieving, about love, and about change. The book is the day to day tale of Charlotte and her family the summer right after her mother's death. Charlotte is dealing with the loss, but she's very much a changed person from before. When Charlotte meets the boy next door, Ezra, she connects with him automatically.I loved Charlotte's narrative voice and her story. Charlotte loves books and she starts blogging for the island's library. Charlotte is in a very isolated position, and yet just from her voice you can see the good person she is and what a good friend she would be. Ezra, meanwhile, is a quiet and mysterious character with secrets of his own, but he's also sweet and he listens to Charlotte. More than that, he understands her. I really can't describe how much I loved the scenes with Charlotte and Ezra. Their relationship was so sweet, full of butterfly feelings and sweet kisses, but I loved how they also had the deeper connection of friendship and sharing secrets.Marie Landry did a fabulous job of combining romance with family issues. All the characters and relationships here are layered. Charlotte's sister Ella is lashing out, while their Dad is falling into a depression. These things are big parts of the story, and each of them is resolved, or at least dealt with, by the end of the book. I felt the ending was a tiny bit wish fulfillment, in that it likely wouldn't work out so perfectly in real life, but I still loved it. I mean, who wouldn't want a happy and hopeful ending (or beginning, really) for characters they've grown to care for?The reason why I liked `Waiting for the Storm' so much is because of the emotions it made me feel. This book is just so beautiful and meaningful, and the characters felt like real people. The book also features a Canadian setting relatively close to me, so I knew the cities and schools mentioned, which is always a cool feeling. YA contemp fans, look no further for your next read: `Waiting for the Storm' is not one to miss.