Name: Storming
ISBN: 9780985780470

K. M. Weiland

After an peculiar young woman falls out of the sky onto his biplane, an irresponsible barnstormer must help her prevent a pirate dirigible with a weather machine from wreaking havoc on the Nebraska hometown he fled nine years ago.

A Dieselpunk Adventure

Storming

Mary Horton

I'm just sitting here in a daze because wowwww this book. 

The author somehow manages to combine fantastic plot, AMAZING CHARACTERS, poignant themes, great writing style, and high-flying action all in one fell swoop. LIKE SERIOUSLY. It is not often that I find a book with all of these components.

For the sake of my scattering thoughts, I'm just going to compile a list of all the brilliancy that is this book. 


  Things I Loved:


+ ALL THE CHARACTERS. I know I say this a lot...but characters are basically a make-or-break deal for me. If I don't like the characters, you can be pretty sure my opinion of the book will plummet faster than the Jenny in a thunderstorm (which...actually isn't that fast? #failedmetaphor XD) But Storming was a gold mine in terms of characters. You can tell K.M. Weiland put a ton of work into crafting realistic characters with realistic motivations. Props to her for that because it's not an easy task. (And yes, I made an airplane pun, go me.)

I have to say, Hitch was probably my favorite character. I wasn't expecting that, honestly, but he just stole my heart right away. I really felt for him, and watching his character arc was just the bestttt <3 

Of course, I loved Jael and Walter, too. I mean, who wouldn't? Jael is smart and feisty and sweet--basically a female character that all the YA world can take notes on. And Walter is just a darling who makes my heart melt. I loved the way the author actually shaped his personality throughout the book, instead of just leaving him as a typical "cute kid" character tacked on for fun. 

+ The themes. OH MY GOODNESS. The themes almost overtake the characters in terms of brilliance. Like gosh...it's been a long time since I've felt this moved by a book's themes. I teared up more than once. It's just so perfect the way the themes are woven in throughout the story. <3

+ The setting. It was set in Nebraska during the 1920s, a setting I would I've never seen before and probably would have never thought of, to be frank. I loved the simplicity of the town, contrasted with the airshow and the mysterious Schturming flying around. 

+ The writing style. It's amazing, okay? End of story.


  Things I Didn't Like:


+ Not much to see here. I did know the big plot twist before it happened, but that was probably because I'm getting much better at guessing plot twists. Also, as much as I loved the airshow, all the flying around got a teensy bit boring. Not enough to bother me that much, though, because most of the book was action-packed.

In short? THIS IS A MASTERPIECE AND EVERYONE MUST READ IT.

4.5 stars!

K.M. Weiland

In the high-flying, heady world of 1920s aviation, brash pilot Robert "Hitch" Hitchcock's life does a barrel roll when a young woman in an old-fashioned ball gown falls from the clouds smack in front of his biplane. As fearless as she is peculiar, Jael immediately proves she's game for just about anything, including wing-walking in his struggling airshow. In return for her help, she demands a ride back home . . . to the sky.Hitch thinks she's nuts--until he steers his plane into the midst of a bizarre storm and nearly crashes into a strange airship like none he's ever run afoul of, an airship with the power to control the weather. Caught between a corrupt sheriff and dangerous new enemies from above, Hitch must take his last chance to gain forgiveness from his estranged family, deliver Jael safely home before she flies off with his freewheeling heart, and save his Nebraska hometown from storm-wielding sky pirates.Cocky, funny, and full of heart, Storming is a jaunty historical/dieselpunk mash-up that combines rip-roaring adventure and small-town charm with the thrill of futuristic possibilities.

Storming A Dieselpunk Adventure