Tempest Paperback – July 7, 2010

The first thing I noticed when I started reading Tempest was the unusual formatting. No paragraph was indented, with a double space in between each paragraph. I wondered if it would interfere with my enjoyment of the book. A few pages into it, I didn't even notice the formatting any longer. Always the sign of a good book.Tempest is about a teenage girl who discovers she has unusual powers relating to hurricanes, and also an unusual family history and purpose. The characters are well defined. We see everyone from the eyes of the main character Janelle. There is no viewpoint jumping.In most books I read, there are always just little sections I skip, mostly long descriptions. Once I get the idea of how the author is trying to describe something, I will sometimes jump words ahead. That didn't happen with this book, I read every word. Everything is well done from the dialogue to the descriptions. There were no long winded descriptions of a plant in the corner that was ultimately meaningless to the scene (I used to be guilty of this). I read the book in a matter of days, a record for me, which is a compliment.Strengths:Tight, efficient writing.Very imaginative. I write a lot of stories about people with powers, and this is something I would never think of.Fast paced. Can't think of a single lull.Weaknesses:There were times I wanted to reach into the page and slap the main character Janelle.I thought the relationship/blossoming friendship between Janelle and Gary was undeveloped (at the same time, the lack of a central romance might be seen as a positive).Some people might have issues with the formatting. I did at first, but the story makes you forget that. That might not be the case for others.

I promise to be brutally honest with my opinion, but it should not be taken as fact. Any reader should read it for themselves, before they decide if this book has any merit or not. Do not judge this book biased solely on my opinion. If you do, you might miss out on a great read. You never know. It could happen.1. Strong Main Character/ Female Heroine: Janelle is a lost girl that is caught up in a life or life and death situation. She does not know who or what exactly she is, but she knows that something is not right. This novel highlights her journey in finding out about herself and what she truly is with the help of a teenaged boy named Gary, who she soon finds herself having feelings for. She pushes those feelings aside and they keep returning. Although if I were her, I would have kept those feelings away and focused more about the dangerous situation at hand. Janelle is indecisive and naïve. She believes that nothing bad can happen and this whole thing is a dream. She is not that believable of a main character and she is not much of a heroine. She does not even really save the day either. Other people have to risk their lives and even then, she is not the one to extinguish the evilness from the world. 2 out of 5 stars2. Strong Minor Characters: Gary is the real hero of this story and I would have enjoyed it a lot better if it was from his point of view. There are so many unanswered questions about Gary's treatment for all of those years and I am really interested in knowing those answers. He is the really rebellious one and tries to help Janelle. Even though he fails, he never gives up or loses hope. (Even when the narrator states that he does, I do not believe it. He always has a plan and he seems like a great actor to me.) His life remains a mystery to me and I would read the second book just to find out what happens to him next. The other characters in the story do not have a bigger role than Gary. They have lesser really unimportant ones. I am still confused with who is really the good guys in this book, because it seems like nothing is really black and white and maybe that is the point. If that is the point, then the author should really state that more clearly, instead of having the novel be one big goose chase with nothing really happening. The other characters were not fully developed and they lacked realism. 3 out of 5 stars3. The Setting: Always a fun of new and exciting places, this book has it all. It has sunny Florida and a weird mysterious island. The places were very interesting and I like how some of the book took place in the middle of the ocean; however, none of the scenes and places were really vivid to me. They were not described in detail, where you could picture it in your mind. I mean, I got the basics down, but I could not really picture sinister places being dark and scary, when there was not a lot of details to go on to make that happen. 3 out of 5 stars4. The Plot: The storyline is interesting with the hurricanes and it is unique. I have never read another paranormal novel like this before and maybe that is for a good reason. There are no real legends or mythology behind this tale or really any concrete facts that makes any sense. There is a lot of conflicting information in this novel like a category two hurricane being very destructive, when in reality it would not incur as much damage as the novel states. I also think that the whole taking over the world thing is far-fetched since they would only rule the coast lines. There would never be any real threat inland, so they would be like pirates doomed only to control the seas. Now that I think about it though, they would control all import and out port all over the world. Maybe it would not be as farfetched as I think or maybe people would actually come together and work off of the land they have. 3 out of 5 stars5. The Artwork: The cover is breathtaking. It caught my eye to read this book and I believe that it is very misleading. You would think that this novel is very dark and brooding, but it is not. It is actually sort of light with little pinpricks of darkness that only ever really come out until the end. 4 out of 5 stars6. The Writing: The author could use some development and maybe a mythology class or creative writing class or two or both. The writing is mediocre at best and seems very adolescent and more suited for preteens or children under the age of sixteen. It is not for true young adults aged seventeen and older, because it lacks depth and intrigue needed to keep that audience's interest. Since I am still in the category for young adult myself, I am an expert on what I am talking about and also because I am majoring in English. This book screams debut to me and not in a good way. 2 out of 5 stars7. The Dialogue: For some reason, the dialogue is very engaging to me and it is, among other aspects, why I kept reading the story. It is fresh and sharp with intriguing communication between everyone. I enjoy the miscommunications as well and I believe if the writing was as well as the dialogue, then this could have been a very well written and engaging novel. Too bad that it was not although I do believe that there is hope that the author will improve in the second installment. 4 out of 5 starsOverall, I give this novel 3 stars. It was not the best that I have ever read, but it was by no means the worst. I am considering reading the second book, if and when it is ever available for free. There is no way that I would spend more than a buck on it, since I did not find the first book very good or was super ecstatic about it.

Tempest by Holly Hook is a suspensful tale of a young girls journey of self-exploration and identity brought on by a secret that has been withheld from her all her life. Everything she thought she knew was a lie and it has left her questioning who she really is and just what she is really capable of.Janelle Duvall has lived a somewhat normal life in Flint, Michigan. When economic times go bad, her father moves her to Florida where they settle in just as Hurricane Gary makes its way through. Janelle has noticed that her father has been behaving strangely in the week they've been in Florida, for instance, as the wind and rain howled outside their house during the hurricane, Janelle begged to go to the shelter but her father remained strangely calm, happy even. It wasn't until the police forced them to go to the local high school shelter that he gave in and went.It's there were she meets Gary, a boy who seems to literally appear out of a water vortex in the parking lot. The strange thing is he has the same birthmark that Janelle has. Not just similar, but identical! The birthmark, oddly enough looks like a swirling hurricane. It's this meeting that sets Janelle on her journey to find out who she really is and just why her father is acting so whacked out! A journey that is rich with nail biting action, suspense and edge of your seat anticipation. The ending is incredibly satisfying yet leaves room for a possible sequel.You'll have to read the book to find out more and I guarantee you will be enthralled. Janelle and the supporting characters are believable and real. The story itself is fascinating and brings a new element to the young adult paranormal genre.

This book is brilliantly written! The storyline is so original and the plot really twists, so every page there is something new to discover. The characters are easy to relate to, especially Janelle who suddenly has an awful lot on her plate! During this book, I felt pretty much all the emotions you can feel - angry at the injustice of the situation, frustrated at Gary and generally captivated, wondering what was going to happen next! Highly recommended to pretty much all ages YA and up!

Interesting premise, but it took me a while to read it as it couldn't quite grip my attention. At times I found the protagonist a little annoying - rather than sitting down and listening to the loving father who raised her and trusting in him, she immediately thinks him a monster, runs, and causes one disaster after another. I'll probably not read the next one.

I liked the way this book approached this new power, I enjoyed the characters and secrecy. I am looking forward to the next one

The book is okay but slow at the beginning but as it gets to the middle it picks up. I found the ending good.

Excellent read, was drawn into the story from the first chapter, looking forward to the second and following books, would recommend this Author to anyone...fab