Review: Beautiful story about loss, grief, and healing
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 29, 2013
Waiting For the Storm is a beautiful story that tells of loss, grief, friendship, and love. Marie Landry has done a wonderful job of constructing a very moving story about a family dealing with loss and also helping them to heal and move forward with their lives.We first meet our main character Charlotte at her mother's funeral. We discover she has been taking care of her sick mom for the past year and her friendships have deteriorated. I felt bad for Charlotte, because she needed her friends to be there for her in a way that they weren't. Dealing with a terminal illness is never an easy thing and unfortunately it makes people uncomfortable. Charlotte isn't angry with them, but really she is more hurt. She needed someone to lean on during this time and her sister and her father were not around to help her. Charlotte's relationship with her sister, Ella, is rather strained. Ella used to be withdrawn, preferring her solitude, until Charlotte decided to stay at home and take courses her senior year in order to help with her mom. Now Ella finally feels she doesn't have to live in her older sister's shadow and really spins out of control: partying, boys, etc. The two are not close like they used to be and you can see just how much Ella resents Charlotte. Their father also wasn't around much, as his grief over losing his wife was unbearable and he couldn't stand to watch her be taken from him. This puts a lot of responsibility on Charlotte's shoulders and we meet a girl who is dealing with the loss of her mother and her best friend.After Charlotte's mom's passing, the three had promised to spend time at her favorite childhood getaway- Angel Island. Charlotte's family of three now packs up and heads to their new destination and also a place their mother loved. It's so disheartening to see the divide between these three. Instead of leaning on one another and supporting each other, they almost seem more like strangers. Upon arrival to the island, Ella immediately heads out to make friends and their father recluses away (Charlotte calls him Zombie Dad) and Charlotte is left to worry about them. However, Charlotte ends up befriending the boy next door, Ezra, who also happens to be helping fix up their cottage. Their friendship is incredibly sweet and he ends up being just the person Charlotte needs to help her deal with her grief. Ezra is patient and kind and is willing to listen to Charlotte and just be there for her. Of course, their friendship leads to something more and in Ezra, Charlotte starts to find genuine happiness. He is there to be a shoulder to cry on as well as a welcome distraction from her laboring thoughts about her family. Ezra understands Charlotte in a way no one else can but is keeping a few secrets of his own. Trust is a huge deal to Charlotte and she has opened up to Ezra in a way she never thought she could, so naturally she wants him to entrust her with his secrets. After finding out Ezra has been keeping a massive secret from her, Charlotte is beyond hurt and ends up pushing him away. However, Charlotte has to decide if keeping Ezra at a distance is really what she wants or if she can forgive him for keeping something so huge and move forward.What starts out as a story about loss and grief quickly turns into one of healing and new beginnings. New friendships are formed, familial bonds are reinforced, and love is found when it's least expected. Waiting For the Storm is the perfect read to pick up if you're in the mood for a sweet story that will put a smile on your face.