The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum

I found The Stormchasers in a Book Riot list of books that feature tornadoes. I was initially drawn to the article because the movie Twister has a special place in my heart. However, The Stormchasers is about much more than tornadoes. Twins, Karena and Charles, haven’t been in contact in twenty years but when Karena receives a call from a psychiatric hospital where Charles has been admitted, she’s not surprised. But when she arrives at the hospital, Charles has already been discharged and has conveniently forgotten to mention his bipolar diagnosis. Afraid that Charles might be headed for a dangerously manic episode, Karena tries to track him down through the one thing that Charles always turned to, especially during his increasing erratic behavior: storm chasing. Karena joins a storm chasing tour in the hopes she will find Charles. The juxtaposition of severe storms and bipolar disorder worked well as a metaphor. At the heart of this novel is the deep-rooted relationship of Karena and Charles. It was complex, dramatic and kept the novel together. Ms. Blum’s descriptions were detailed and captivating. My one small complaint would be that the novel was written in the third person present tense which took some getting used to before it stopped pulling me out of the action. Other than that, I recommend the roller coaster ride that is The Stormchasers.