When the Storm Passes

by Julie Jett

It's May 22, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri, and thirteen-year-old Avalie Milner has just finished dinner. Within minutes, a mile-wide tornado will change her life.

After being rescued from the rubble of her home, Avalie sets out on a to find her loved ones, to restore her home, and to survive on her own in a world that will never be the same.

In her debut novel, Joplin-area native Julie Jett chronicles the destruction of Joplin, the character and heart of its people, and the story of a young girl who finds her way home. A portion of profits from this novel will support Bright Futures, Rebuild Joplin, and the Joplin Humane Society - organizations which are actively working in Joplin to help children, schools and pets affected by the storm.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 13, 2012

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if anyone else caught this but the book starts over again about 55% or so into it after reading the epilogue! The story is very good and it felt real to me even though it was fiction. I live in NE OK, not too far from Joplin. From what I understand from our news and videos, that was a "rain-wrapped" tornado, one you couldn't see in the storm clouds thus no time for a warning or sirens. Julie did a good job of showing the confusion and shock after a tornado hits as seen through a 13 year old's eyes. The story is based on a real tornado but not real people yet she conveys a real feeling of being there in the middle of it all. One of the better books I've read related to being in a tornado!

[Mandy McHenry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really eye opening. I couldn't put it down. It was an easy read, fast paced, and I really connected with the main character. This was my first Kindle read, and I'm going to be honest - I was skeptical. I'm a lover of books and couldn't fathom not turning pages and smelling the book and wearing out the book binding. This author made it easy for me to forget that I wasn't holding a book and to just get lost in the story. My heart goes out to the people of Joplin for all they have gone through.

[Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not much of a crier, but I found myself tearing up several times during this powerful little story about Avalie, a 13 year old girl who finds herself alone following the f5 tornado that hit Joplin. Although this story is pure fiction, there is so much real life interwoven that it doesn't feel like fiction at all. Julie Jett hit a home-run with this book. I'm glad that some of the money I spent on the kindle version went toward relief for the Norman tornado, and would have gladly paid more both for the relief effort and because this story is worth much more than 2.99 imho.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I could feel Avalie's anguish along with her strength as she searched for her family after the tornado. It really gives you a feeling for what people went thru and the devastation of the Joplin tornado from last year. Everyone who was touched by the storm is changed forever, for the good or the bad. I should also mention that while the Joplin tornado was very real, this particular story and all of the characters are fictional.

[R.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautifully written story of a young teenage girl dealing with the aftermath of the 2011 Joplin tornado. The courage of Avalie and the kindness of the people who came together to reach out and help others, even when they had lost everything themselves, made me want to cry. I look forward to reading more from Julie Jett in the future!

[Gail]

Awesome book. Wonderful writing.....makes you feel like you are in the storm also. Made me cry and laugh. Thanks for a great read.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fictional book about a young girl trying to survive in the aftermath of the F5 tornado in Joplin. Well written

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the tornado hit, Joplin took a big hit and Avalie, who was 13 and her dog Max lived to tell the story.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tornados

They can destroy a lifetime of happiness and put you in a state of loneliness. This book is based on a tornado events.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the story itself is fiction, When the Storm Passes is actually set during the 2011 tornado which damaged 75% of the towns houses and killed more than 150 people. This gives the book an incredible sense of realism, particularly when I finished reading and went and Googled it to find out more.
Avalie's story is nothing short of harrowing, but also incredibly brave. At home with her mother when the tornado hits, she is later rescued from the rubble by two men and taken to the local hospital.

Realising that her mother has not been seen nor heard from since the tornado, she sneaks out and sets off to search for her mother herself, with her small, disabled dog as her only companion.

Showing incredible resilience and initiative, Avalie sets herself up to live in the house that her former neighbour inhabited, helped by local teenagers while keeping up the pretense that her mother is living with her, but is busy working in the local hospital. As time progresses, and Avalie's search for her family starts to really hit home, events threaten to overwhelm her completely.

Julie Jett has really built a story with characters that I felt an incredible sympathy and awe for. She perfectly captures the devastation wrought by the tornado, and the attempts of the town to support the impacted citizens and to rebuild their town.

Although it is a relatively short book, When the Storm Passes is chock full of emotion, survival and also the coming-of-age of Avalie and all the characters are realistic, down-to-earth people who care greatly about the well-being of their fellow townsfolk.

The ending is sweet and poignant and fits perfectly with the tone and message of the story.

Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you had asked me if a historical fiction novel could be successfully written about events less than a year past, I would have been skeptical. You needn't be. When The Storm Passes could be considered a touching coming-of-age story that happens to coincide with living through a natural disaster... or a true-to-life first-person account of a natural disaster that happens to hasten the transition of a girl to adulthood. Both would be correct, and both story lines are equally realistic and effective.

I grew up in the area around where this story takes place, and I vouch for that fact that it presents small-city life in middle America warmly and genuinely, if perhaps exaggerating the everyone-knows-everyone feel of a city that is the shopping and medical center for the region. Geographical and historical details are accurate, if left vague to avoid identifying specific individuals or businesses. And Jett truly captures the raw emotions, awe and surrealism of living through an F-5 tornado and its aftereffects.

Do not expect to get through this novel without tearing up or full-out sobbing, unless you are immune to such things. While fictional, the personal tragedies and triumphs of Jett's Avalie Milner will certainly ring true with many real people who have lived through such an experience. It is difficult not to identify with her, and when she makes what most would consider mistakes, it is hard to imagine that anyone else in her place would act differently.

But if this book were simply a tribute to tornado survivors, then perhaps only those survivors would be interested in reading it. That is not the case. This story stands alone as a humbling reminder of the power of nature and the heartening nature of real human kindness and love. Read it... and weep.

[Sally Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie Jett did a magnificent job of putting us into the shoes of a girl who has lost everything and is too afraid to confirm it. Her writing style is beautiful and tragic and tore a hole in my heart for the protagonist who is far braver than most of us are as adults, but intuitively she probably does exactly the same thing most of us would have done at her age, which is hold on to the past as tightly as you can until someone comes to rip you out of it for your own good, for love. This book brings you back to the premise that there is good...and bad—and though we fear for her, we can still see that there is also still magic and an unseen guiding hand leading her home. Though, the home she's searching for was never home before. We know no one and everyone through the eyes of this young girl. Not only is her future taken from her, but her past has lost the truth she knew in it. Amazing writing style, and I truly fought reading it all in one sitting, because I knew I would never be happy to see When the Storm Passes end. Such a journey <3 Highly recommend - Jett has penned many unexpected twists and turns. When the Storm Passes blew me away. In a way, very reminiscent of Hugh Howey's "The Hurricane" that brought me right back to my adolescence self - but under horrific circumstances.

[Nann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could very well have been Avalie! This author did a wonderful job capturing the shock and tragedy while still drawing a picture of what is beautiful about my hometown. A very authentic look at Joplin, and the trial that nature has slammed upon us.

I grew up in a house my parents bought in 1954 (with very steep stairs) at 2301 Byers. After going through Irving, South, and graduating from Parkwood in 1984, I secured a job at good ol' Skaggs Alpha Beta, got married, and raised my kids in our cute little house at 2301 Pennsylvania.

All these places are now only memories in my heart, including St Mary's, where that iconic cross now stands alone. This is where my dad used to take me when the sirens would sound, and we would stand, searching those creepy still skies for rotation. I can still hear it, feel it, knowing that nothing could hurt me if my dad was there. Now I know better, and how foolish he was!

So, you see this book has inspired me to get some of my own memories down! So many stories bound together in the human experience...

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was riveting, from first page to last. Though the characters and their stories are fictional, the description of the storm and its aftermath are not. I've had first hand experience and can say that the details related here are entirely realistic. The book is an excellent portrayal of physical and emotional devastation caused by nature's fury. It's a story that sadly plays out again and again across this country. Hurricanes and tornadoes are much the same, with respect to the damage caused and the isolation imposed on the survivors.

Although the main character is a thirteen year old girl, I would not class this as a YA book. This can been read by all ages that would comprehend it, about 12 and older. This is also a story of hope, a tribute to the amazing way that people selflessly work to help others, in terrible conditions.

Well written and engrossing, this book is definitely worth a read.

[Emma Filbrun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember, a few years ago, someone here in New Zealand saying that they had seen on the news that there were tornadoes somewhere in America—they thought maybe in my home state of Michigan. It turned out to be Missouri, an easy mistake for someone to make when they weren’t familiar with the states. I breathed a sigh of relief that the killer tornadoes were not near my friends and family, but the pictures I saw online were horrific and we sure felt for the people of Joplin who lived—and died—through this storm. Then, over the next few years, Joplin became a familiar place as family members wrote about helping rebuild the city, and we saw many more pictures of progress being made there. Still, it was somewhat of an abstract place to me—until I read When the Storm Passes recently.

Read my full review here.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. In some ways it was excellent - the characters seem so real and you get caught up in their stories, wanting to know what happens to them. The author does an excellent job getting you into the head of a 13-year-old girl handling the aftermath of catastrophe. On the other hand, even though it was completely realistic, I didn't appreciate the crude language sprinkled throughout (the kind so commonly used by teens today). I'm wondering if I can really recommend this book because of that. Without this negative aspect, this book would have had five stars from me.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the Storm Passes is a fictional account of a 13 year old girl's experiences after surviving the Joplin tornado in 2011. Although the story is fictional, many of the locations and places mentioned in the story are real (such as St. John's hospital). I have always been fascinated with stories about storms/tornadoes, but this was a little more intense since it was based on a real storm. Other than a few parts of the story where I found certain things to be a bit convenient for the main character and a few times where she got on my nerves, I found myself having a hard time putting this down.

3.5 stars

[Tom Dye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have relatives from Joplin, Missouri, who survived the catastrophic EF5 multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin in the late afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011. I normally don't read YA novels, but my familial connection with the setting for this novel piqued my interest. While I would have undoubtedly enjoyed this book even more were I still a teenybopper, the realism of events and emotions throughout the book were riveting for me, even at my age. I enjoyed this novel, had a good cry, and would recommend it to all others of any age.

[Renee Carter Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better indie reads I've come across, focusing not so much on the terror of the storm itself, but on the chaos (physical and emotional) that follows, and the effort to struggle back to a 'normal' life. The main character does some stupid things, but no more stupid than any traumatized teenager might, and while I felt there were things (especially near the end) that worked out a little too neatly for her, it wasn't unbelievable enough to ruin the story.

[April Busch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this fictional story. It felt real to me because of the tornado that just destroyed many homes and lives in Oaklahoma. The main character Avalie is a strong 13 year old who endures a lot but find a lot of love throughout the trials she is faced with. It was lovely to feel the love when disaster hits. This is this authors first novel and I would definitely give her next a chance :)

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very caught up in this book. For me, the first half or so was a lot of interesting, page-turning content. Around the second half is where a lot of my emotions were pulled out. I shed a few tears and even laughed out loud once. This was easy to read, yet hard on emotions.

[Natalie Nollette rossiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kleenex needed

An amazing book based on a real event with fictional story. I loved this but needed Kleenex several times. A great story of strength courage survival and perseverance.

[Alison]

kindle 196 (historic) Joplin tornado

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

My e book copy had he story twice.,.looking forward to julies next book

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the perspective of the character! Avalie is a survivor!

[Lauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avalie broke my heart. What a beautiful story.

[Margaret Boehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was excellent. Sometimes when we hear about tragedies we generalize them. But to have one on one of someone experiences it really touches your heart

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written from the point of view of a child during and after the Joplin twister. Absolutely heart wrenching.

[Toledo (T.J.) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gave us an insight in to what the aftermath of a tornado is like. I believe most communities respond as this one did to help the survivors, and it was uplifting. Good read.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, quick read that is hard to put down. Such an eye-opening story (fiction) that gives you a glimpse at what the survivors may have felt. Great main character with such a story to tell.