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dlarca's review
2.0
Twins Ruby and Simon are having an unusually hot and dry, but otherwise ordinary summer on their family's farm - until Ruby spots a strange man leaving their barn early one morning. His appearance sets off a chain of events that neither child could have ever imagined. The man, Otis, has come to find Simon in order to let him know that he is part of a secret society of people called Storm Makers. Storm Makers have the ability to control and tame the weather. Soon, Simon and Ruby must race against the clock to harness Simon's abilities before a villianous Storm Maker unleashes a dangerous disaster.
The Storm Makers grabbed me right away. Smith's writing is wonderful and the story was moving along nicely. However as I got further into the book, the plot seemed to slow down a lot. At close to 400 pages, I think this was a little long for middle grader readers and could definitely have been tightened up for a dynamite story. I'm going to booktalk this to my book club next week and hopefully get some feedback from the audience that matters most.
The Storm Makers grabbed me right away. Smith's writing is wonderful and the story was moving along nicely. However as I got further into the book, the plot seemed to slow down a lot. At close to 400 pages, I think this was a little long for middle grader readers and could definitely have been tightened up for a dynamite story. I'm going to booktalk this to my book club next week and hopefully get some feedback from the audience that matters most.
angelcwrites's review
4.0
Posted on Seashell Reviews at Mermaid Vision Books!
I have many dear memories of favourite middle-grade novels, like The Giver and Bridge to Terabithia. They served to ignite my imagination and tell me truths adults may have been reluctant to share with an 8- or-9-year-old. The Storm Makers is a novel worthy of joining those much-loved books. The POV and narration were stellar, lively enough to keep young readers' attention but insightful enough to please older readers as well. In fact, there was an amazing depth to the story, to the point where it stopped reading like a MG novel and the adventure just took over. Jennifer E. Smith's focus on the friendship between Simon and Ruby is the cornerstone of this remarkable novel, which will gain new fans with every reread.
I have many dear memories of favourite middle-grade novels, like The Giver and Bridge to Terabithia. They served to ignite my imagination and tell me truths adults may have been reluctant to share with an 8- or-9-year-old. The Storm Makers is a novel worthy of joining those much-loved books. The POV and narration were stellar, lively enough to keep young readers' attention but insightful enough to please older readers as well. In fact, there was an amazing depth to the story, to the point where it stopped reading like a MG novel and the adventure just took over. Jennifer E. Smith's focus on the friendship between Simon and Ruby is the cornerstone of this remarkable novel, which will gain new fans with every reread.
theartolater's review
3.0
Jennifer E. Smith is an author I know because of her awesome YA book The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. Her doing a weather-based fantasy for middle readers? Count me in, I thought! Unfortunately, the book didn't meet my expectations.
The concept is great - we learn that there are people capable of controlling the weather, and one of our two child protagonists is one of them, and may be one of the strongest yet. What results is a power struggle between the Storm Makers of who will run the show and how the powers they wield will be used.
This has some passing similarity to Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner, which came out a few months after this and takes a more scientific approach in its futuristic, weather-controlling story. As a result, it ends up being a better, more consistent, and more suspenseful book. The Storm Makers feels like has less at stake, is more fantastical, and might be a little overlong on its own, never mind in comparison to Eye.
It fits a niche well enough, but it's not the best in its class, or even overall. It's worth a read for this specific genre if you're into it, but it's hardly what I'd consider essential.
The concept is great - we learn that there are people capable of controlling the weather, and one of our two child protagonists is one of them, and may be one of the strongest yet. What results is a power struggle between the Storm Makers of who will run the show and how the powers they wield will be used.
This has some passing similarity to Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner, which came out a few months after this and takes a more scientific approach in its futuristic, weather-controlling story. As a result, it ends up being a better, more consistent, and more suspenseful book. The Storm Makers feels like has less at stake, is more fantastical, and might be a little overlong on its own, never mind in comparison to Eye.
It fits a niche well enough, but it's not the best in its class, or even overall. It's worth a read for this specific genre if you're into it, but it's hardly what I'd consider essential.
bookworm6632's review
3.0
Not what I wanted and as much as I didn't want to finish it after I realized it wasn't what I was expecting. i still finished it and liked the way it ended.
cthrnlc's review
5.0
This one seems a little like Harry Potter; the young boy who doesn't think he's that powerful, but he actually is and can take down the big, powerful bad guy. I liked the book a lot.
librarylisa's review
4.0
I enjoyed the aspects of sibling rivalry and fantasy in this book. The "big twist" was one I could see coming from the second chapter, but it was still a nice read. Would work well for boys or girls and doesn't necessarily need to be for kids who like fantasy. Nothing inappropriate... a little bit of drama in the big finale, but no bad language or yucky kissy face.
elllie's review
Meh. I put this down before bed one night and never felt like picking it up again. What I read of it was fine, but I didn't feel super compelled to finish it. I think the story was dragging a bit and I didn't really care about the characters. Also, I think there may have been too many other characters behaving too cryptically mysteriously for me to get into this one.
librarykate's review
4.0
This was fun read. I was able to figure out at the beginning something that took Ruby until the end of the book to figure out, but I'm not exactly the intended audience. Overall enjoyable and an easy sell to kids who like magical adventure.
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
Far from being my favourite Jennifer E Smith novel (probably because it's definitely aimed for tweens) but quite a cute family story.