The Surge

Storm Runners #2

by Roland Smith, Ramón de Ocampo (Narrator)

After barely surviving a terrifying hurricane, Chase and his friends Nicole and Rashawn have made it to the safety of Nicole's family farm, which is also the winter home of the Rossi Brothers Circus, where flood waters are rising and dangerous circus animals are on the loose.

Genres: Adventure, Middle Grade, Fiction, Survival, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Action

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Roland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.
Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University and, following a part-time job at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, began a 20-year career as a zookeeper, both at the Oregon Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, in 1990, he published his first book, Sea Otter Rescue, a non-fiction account of the process of animal rescue. Smith continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996.
In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thundercave. The book continues Smith's theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. The Lansa character also appears in 1999
s Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo. Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot. Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains, Elephant Run and Tentacles(novel). In 2008, Smith published the first book in the series I, Q, titled Independence Hall. Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. Smith lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storm Runners: The Surge tells the story of the main characters; Chase, Nicole, and Rashawn and their struggle to survive the effects of a category five hurricane which had made landfall at their location in St. Petersburg, Florida. The setting and where the majority of the story takes place is on Nicole’s family farm where they keep their circus animals during the winter months.

In the first Storm Runners book, the three kids barely survived the beginning of the hurricane after making it out alive after their bus crashed and sunk in the flooding waters. They made it to Nicole’s family farm and now have to focus on surviving the remainder of the storm. They face a number of problems however, with a major one being that the Rossi family house had been completely demolished. The three kids and Nicole’s grandmother seek refuge in a circus barn, and Nicole very worried about their elephant, Pet, who is pregnant and also extremely nervous because of the situation in which she may give birth in. Later on, the power goes out, which makes Pet go into a panic and Chase realizes he has to do something. His plan was to go to get gas for the generator, and then he realizes just how dangerous that would actually be. They discover that many animals are absent from their cages, including an aggressive leopard named Hector, and a lion named Simba.

I thought this book was great mainly because of how intense the story got at times, and how there were many cliffhangers from chapter to chapter as you go along. It wasn’t a super long book, and I liked the way it ended. I think this book is great for anyone who likes to read about natural disasters or survival stories. The book is fictional, but the events that happened are realistic and could actually occur in a real-life hurricane.

[Lisa RV · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is very good for what you'd expect it to be. A nonstop action/adventure, quick read for middle school kids, especially reluctant readers who get bored easily when reading.

[Dyllan Schulze · Rating 5 out of 5]

this part of the seirese was kinda sad. their were some death in it to some animals.

[Anne Hawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was also filled with tremendous action and suspense. Chase and his friends have survived Hurricane Emily but now they have to deal with the flood surge. They are on Emily's farm where an elephant from the Rossi Brother's Circus is getting ready to give birth. Of course, they loose power and Chase has to try to brave the residue of the storm and the floodwaters to get fuel for the generator. On top of this, some of the big cats, the most dangerous one, are missing.

This is a great series for young adults and interesting enough for adults.

[Peggy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, pregnant elephants, escaped leopards and lions, teenagers that can drive semis, psychic grandmas... this book has it all! Seriously action-packed! Honestly, it's really, really fun. There is never a dull moment in this second in a series of 3 Storm Runners books. This is series is fabulous for middle school readers - boys or girls. The characters are (oddly enough) believable and likeable - the adults are even three-dimensional. The dialog is very good. I don't mean to gush, but really a great book for this age group.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was the best of the series. The Surge was about how Chase and friends survived Hurricane Emily. However they still need to survive the flood waters and all the animals that escaped the circus Nicole's family owns. Also Chase's father is still trying to find Chase while Chase is trying to find oil for light. And now the lions, crocodiles and the bear are loose.

Will Chase and Nicole get the oil, or will they be a meal for a hungry animal ...

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the weakest book of the trilogy yet it’s still pretty awesome

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now this is in a series that i liked in the first book... but the other two books(eruption) and (The surge) are just garbage... now i don't want to criticize (Roland Smith) to much he or she whatever put some effort into creating this book... however the first book was much easier to read and much better!

Lets start with some positives:

The book added new characters with different identities adding more character to the book. they also included a interesting(i don't want to say its good) story where this leopard hector is on a surge to get the main characters i the book.

those were positives now some negatives:

Wall i said the story was interesting i didn't like it besides that. it had terrible dialogue, grammar & poorly made conversations between characters. but what annoyed me the most is the chapters they were each 4 pages long at max! what the heck?! that a long with completely messed up parts to the story, i just ignored those parts and didn't loose any parts of the story.

This book is a big disappointment for me as i really enjoyed the first book... however this book just may be the worst in the series...

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice little follow-up to the first book of the series, Storm Runners.

Chase, Nicole, and Rashawn have made it back to the farm, but all is not well with the animals. The leopard and the lions have gotten loose, and Pet is about to give birth. The storm surge from Hurricane Emily is still rising, and Momma Rossi is doing everything in her power to keep people calm.

John, Tomas, Cindy, and Mark meet up with Richard and Marco (Rashawn's father) at a temporary shelter that been set up in town. Together, even with tensions running strong, the six of them set out to find a way to the circus farm in order to help Momma Rossi and the kids.

Roland Smith does a fine job of bringing some stress into the situation, while still be realistic about what the kids can and can not accomplish. At times the movement is slow and the conversation a little stilted, but all-in-all it is definitely a good go-between book for the first and last installment in the trilogy. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the series as the group makes its way to Mexico to help find Tomas's family as they are dealing with several natural disasters of their own.

[AJ Patterson]

Continuing the action exactly where the previous episode left off, stranded teenagers Chase and Nicole leave the (supposed) safety of the circus barn to fetch gas for the sputtering generator—only to run into an escaped lion and, later, a very aggressive leopard. Meanwhile, Chase’s father and a TV news crew face flooding territory and multiple other serious dangers as they make their way toward the young folks’ refuge. Though the characters show a remarkable ability to carry on conversations in normal tones of voice amid howling winds and flying debris, the action never lags. As the two parties draw toward an eventual reunion Smith’s habit of switching his very short chapters back and forth on cliffhangers becomes more a suspense builder than the distraction it was in the opener. The book is a good one and its a continuation of the first storm runners when the hurricane hit.

[Kristen Post · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of action and danger and written at a low reading level, this book will definitely appeal to some of my students. I liked the time stamps at the beginning of each chapter and I learned some lessons in disaster preparedness. However, the pacing was so fast I didn’t feel like there was enough characterization or plot development. I read this book out of order, but I don’t think that was the problem—I think the focus is just so much in creating a hectic, against the clock suspenseful feeling that other areas were neglected. I much prefer the writing style of Peak, which I’ve rated at 5 stars and have read 3x. I’ll recommend this one for my action/ adventure readers but won’t read the rest of this series myself.

[Moon Petrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was every bit as fast-paced as the first in the series! The original threat of the hurricane continues, but it is compounded by the threat of escaped circus animals! I loved knowing that the author is also an expert in the field of wildlife biology, and so the details of animal behavior were factual and not fabricated. I listened to the audiobook in a single day. This is not a book to start reading at bedtime if you plan to be well-rested the next day. You will not want to put it down!

[Annie Bolke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the last book in the series kind of left of at a cliffhanger, so The Surge, was a great way to finish what happens. There is a huge hurricane going on. It was really cool, because it takes place at a winter base for a circus. Then the leopard´s cage gets opened and there was an aggressive leopard on the loose that could attack Chase and his friends at any moment. Chase hides out in a barn, then the hurricane makes electricity goes out, and the leopard gets in the barn.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting story that has several plot lines coming together to make one coherent story. The story takes an important aspect of an American's psych, as in an invasion by foreign forces, and weaves a very interesting/plot line. The characters are well developed and interesting, the action is a little slow but once it gets started, it continues forward at a brisk pace. The conclusion,in my opinion, tends to let the reader down, but it doesn't take away the overall impact of the story.

[Houston R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a good realistic fiction book, this text is about a boy named Chase he is with family and friends inside a circus tent, and the storm that is outside is about to flood the tent and they are worried about what they should. Chase suggest that they should stay in the tent and wait for someone to help them, but everyone else suggest they should leave. When they leave they realize they are going to have to fit in a truck together and drive off the road into the woods.

[Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chase masters and his father are storm runners, he and his friends Nicole and Rashawn have just survived Hurricane Emily, the storm of the century, but their troubles are just beginning. Although they've made it to the safety of Nicole's family's farm. The winter home of the Rossi Brother's circus the floodwaters are rising, and they need to reach higher ground. The circus's lions have escaped their cages, and a dangerous and unpredictable leopard is also on the loose.

[Checkthebook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second book in the trilogy about a boy and his father who live out of a van as they travel the U.S. looking for construction work. Exciting and well-written story for 5-6 graders. I am not sure if it qualifies for my list, so I am shelving it as a "maybe/maybe not" book for now. Language, "kind of sucked" (p.18), "gasbag" (p.24), "soiled underpants" (p.25), "boyfriend" (p.84), "holding each other" (p.92).

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in Roland Smith's's Storm Chaser trilogy was action packed, but the story line was weaker than the first book. As Hurricane Emily is coming to an end, Chase and his friends make it home but are dealing with a stalking leopard, a pregnant elephant, and surging water. I enjoyed the characters but there were so many events happening that the story was getting a little far fetched.

[Denise Shaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick read. I was interested to read it after reading the first book. I would like to read the third, to see how the series ends, but am not in a huge hurry. Even though it is a novel and that sometimes requires a suspension of disbelief, there were times I was rolling my eyes at the situations characters found themselves in.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd half of the storm runners story. Same great story that I would definitely recommend to middle schoolers. It would be great to read this after (or maybe before...) a field trip to a zoo! A good reminder that wild animals are dangerous...even an ostrich ;)

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wasn't for me.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book left me on such a cliffhanger! I need to find the next one ASAP.

[Eric Grefsrud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lost interest very fast. Not as a good as the first one

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very ingruiging stuff. Would be a fast read without my note taking.

[Mary T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. I'll probably read the last one just to finish. I still like the Beneath/Above books by Roland Smith better.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this story improbable. The characters are more like super heros, but the story is fast-paced and interesting.

[Sheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book (series) to read with your tween/teen.

[Fawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing the story of Hurrican Emily from book one this book is still action and thrill packed for kids and adults alike. A page turner that again leaves you reaching for book 3.

[claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Pattie Babbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gavin's rating. He is excited to start book 3.