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Stormwalker
Ever since his mother died, 11-year-old Owen has felt lost. He's drifting apart from his dad, his grades are dropping, and the only thing keeping him sane are the soccer trials coming up.
Then, in the middle of school one day, he is sucked out of real life and thrown into a desolate alternative world, a largely deserted wasteland where a menacing storm of Darkness plagues the city, threatening his life and the lives of the people who dwell there.
Terrifying as this new world is, Owen recognizes it--his dad is an author, and this is the setting of his new novel. Fueled by his grief over the loss of his mom, Owen's dad has conjured a world so real and so fraught that Owen is transported to it every time his dad sets pen to paper. And he has to live out every word in the story.
But each jump devours chunks of his real life. Owen misses days of school, and even a key soccer game that threatens his chances of having a shot at appearing in the tryouts at all. Owen desperately wants these events to stop, but doesn't want to plunge his dad any further into the well of unhappiness that threatens to drown them both.
With social services threatening to ship Owen off to his aunt's house and his school career spiraling out of control, what if finishing the story and battling the Darkness is the only way Owen can save himself . . . and his dad?
Then, in the middle of school one day, he is sucked out of real life and thrown into a desolate alternative world, a largely deserted wasteland where a menacing storm of Darkness plagues the city, threatening his life and the lives of the people who dwell there.
Terrifying as this new world is, Owen recognizes it--his dad is an author, and this is the setting of his new novel. Fueled by his grief over the loss of his mom, Owen's dad has conjured a world so real and so fraught that Owen is transported to it every time his dad sets pen to paper. And he has to live out every word in the story.
But each jump devours chunks of his real life. Owen misses days of school, and even a key soccer game that threatens his chances of having a shot at appearing in the tryouts at all. Owen desperately wants these events to stop, but doesn't want to plunge his dad any further into the well of unhappiness that threatens to drown them both.
With social services threatening to ship Owen off to his aunt's house and his school career spiraling out of control, what if finishing the story and battling the Darkness is the only way Owen can save himself . . . and his dad?
304 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 2016
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385 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 24, 2017
Owen doesn’t like to think about the longest day in his life, the day a year ago when his mom died. He is finally beginning to find joy in the good things in his life, like being with his best friend and playing soccer. But Owen is worried about his dad, who can’t seem to get over his grief. Things look up when his dad starts writing again; then Owen finds himself going out of his own reality and into a fantasy world, his dad’s story. Can he help both their lives by getting his dad to finish the tale, or will he get lost in the life of Jake, the character his dad created?
Storm Walker by Mike Revell examines the nature of grief through an inventive story about a boy who will always feel the loss of his mom but who also wants to live a vibrant life with his dad again. Owen’s forays into his dad’s story are difficult, as the world he enters is bleak and dangerous. He also loses big chunks of his own life, and begins to feel the separation from everyone important to him. Still, he persists because he wants to help his dad.
As Storm Walker moves between the two story lines, readers are pulled into what is happening in both. It’s a technique that’s not easy to accomplish, but Revell does a great job of keeping readers interested in what’s happening with Owen as well as with Jake, his literary doppelganger. The stories weave together in a way that will keep readers guessing about what happens next right up until the end.
I recommend Storm Walker for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 12.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Storm Walker by Mike Revell examines the nature of grief through an inventive story about a boy who will always feel the loss of his mom but who also wants to live a vibrant life with his dad again. Owen’s forays into his dad’s story are difficult, as the world he enters is bleak and dangerous. He also loses big chunks of his own life, and begins to feel the separation from everyone important to him. Still, he persists because he wants to help his dad.
As Storm Walker moves between the two story lines, readers are pulled into what is happening in both. It’s a technique that’s not easy to accomplish, but Revell does a great job of keeping readers interested in what’s happening with Owen as well as with Jake, his literary doppelganger. The stories weave together in a way that will keep readers guessing about what happens next right up until the end.
I recommend Storm Walker for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 12.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
February 28, 2017
I won this book free in a Goodreads giveaway.
This book is about a boy who lost his mom and dealing with that along with his dads depression. His dad starts to write a book and he finds himself suddenly in the book where he has to save the characters he grows to care for.
Since I also lost my mother as a child and had to deal with my dad being lost afterwards this book hit hard for me. The emotions in the book were real and true to what it is like in real life. The parts of the book where Owen (the main character) is in his father's books read quick and I could tell the alternate world was well thought out by the author. For a book targeted for children it was very well written.
This book is about a boy who lost his mom and dealing with that along with his dads depression. His dad starts to write a book and he finds himself suddenly in the book where he has to save the characters he grows to care for.
Since I also lost my mother as a child and had to deal with my dad being lost afterwards this book hit hard for me. The emotions in the book were real and true to what it is like in real life. The parts of the book where Owen (the main character) is in his father's books read quick and I could tell the alternate world was well thought out by the author. For a book targeted for children it was very well written.
January 1, 2020
It's a story about a father and son that's experiencing grief over the loss of his mother/wife. It is an exciting read because it has two story lines and we gonna get into both stories throughout the book, although I prefer rather more complicated plot, but considering this book might be written for middle grade readers, I believe it's complicated enough. You'd learn about loss, grief and depression and how to face those. Despite having a few plot holes, I enjoyed this story for having such balance of action, mystery and having emotional core in it.
April 30, 2018
This book is about a kid named Owen who has a wonderful life until the long day where his mother passed away and he live with his father who having trouble living alone until one day where he was at school and a storm happened and got carried until with him waking up in a other dimension that looks like home but later finds out he's in a book and leaves to wondering how would Owen survive the dangerous storm in the middle of his city and how would his friends known as storm walkers help.
July 26, 2020
The book is good written by mike revell. Either the actors just contain several people like owen (the main character), his dad, and the other mike can engage how the stories flow really good. Beside the pass of owen mother has been really heavy, he manage to lift himself and his dad from this situation. Dad has been down from the long day but neither he still feel down, he try to write somestories about how he feels. Mike revell has done the good and the moral of the story that he want to show.
August 18, 2022
A fascinating story and it was done really well. That sense of not knowing what's going on when you start a story and sometimes you feel like you have been dropped into the middle of it. And that is literally what is happening to Owen, although I was about to call him Jack! Lots of emotion, action and mystery. Great book!
January 3, 2021
When I got this book I didn't think I would like it but as soon as I started I couldn't put it down. I started reading it in school and didn't want to learn I just wanted to read! It's amazing if you like mystery and it's a bit like stranger things with the alt world!! I really recommend it!
May 7, 2018
This is such a great book and the theme is awesome. As soon as I started reading Stormwalker I couldn't put it down, my teacher even told me off because I was reading it in maths.
February 18, 2019
I struggled with this book. It was a chore to get through it. The story was not gripping, the characters were not well-developed, and I just couldn't wait to finish it.
Owen was really carrying the weight of the whole book, and that wasn't fair to him, because he isn't the most remarkable character to begin with. His dad is kind of a jerk. I mean, I'm sorry your wife died, but this kid's mother died too, and it's been almost a year, so get a grip and take care of your child you useless man!
I found it slightly ridiculous that almost a year after his wife's death, it was writing a sci-fi story that got him out of his funk. A sci-fi story that almost got his boy killed, almost got him to miss out on the amazing opportunity of being scouted for football, and almost got him to lose his best friend.
And I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, so having to spend a good portion of the book in this sci-fi world wasn't what I had signed up for.
Owen was really carrying the weight of the whole book, and that wasn't fair to him, because he isn't the most remarkable character to begin with. His dad is kind of a jerk. I mean, I'm sorry your wife died, but this kid's mother died too, and it's been almost a year, so get a grip and take care of your child you useless man!
I found it slightly ridiculous that almost a year after his wife's death, it was writing a sci-fi story that got him out of his funk. A sci-fi story that almost got his boy killed, almost got him to miss out on the amazing opportunity of being scouted for football, and almost got him to lose his best friend.
And I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, so having to spend a good portion of the book in this sci-fi world wasn't what I had signed up for.
January 12, 2017
A year after the death of his mother, a twelve year old boy urges his author dad to write again, thinking it will help with his dad’s grief, only the boy finds himself pulled into the bleak world of his father’s novel, jumping back and forth between his real life as an aspiring athlete, and the life of the boy in the book, forced to step up as a hero, and face his aching loss.
While there are some undeniably sad moments, it isn’t overwhelmingly so, it felt like the right balance for it’s intended middle-grade audience, touching on the difficult stuff just long enough before returning to more adventurous scenes.
The world-building in the father’s book wasn’t overly complicated, as an adult reader, I maybe wanted a little more, but again, it seemed like just enough for kids, and anyways it’s not really about the world-building, the more important thing is the emotional journey for this father and son.
I thought it would have been interesting to see a little more interaction between Owen’s two worlds, like if maybe his father found out what was going on, and part of their healing was in working through the story together, but it was still solid storytelling without that element, and the end of both stories had a really nice uplifting quality.
Lastly, more female characters would have been welcome, I did enjoy Iris, she had a great curiosity and sense of self in her scenes, though I would have loved if she’d played an even more prominent role.
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
While there are some undeniably sad moments, it isn’t overwhelmingly so, it felt like the right balance for it’s intended middle-grade audience, touching on the difficult stuff just long enough before returning to more adventurous scenes.
The world-building in the father’s book wasn’t overly complicated, as an adult reader, I maybe wanted a little more, but again, it seemed like just enough for kids, and anyways it’s not really about the world-building, the more important thing is the emotional journey for this father and son.
I thought it would have been interesting to see a little more interaction between Owen’s two worlds, like if maybe his father found out what was going on, and part of their healing was in working through the story together, but it was still solid storytelling without that element, and the end of both stories had a really nice uplifting quality.
Lastly, more female characters would have been welcome, I did enjoy Iris, she had a great curiosity and sense of self in her scenes, though I would have loved if she’d played an even more prominent role.
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
January 9, 2017
Review written for SLJ:
Grades 4-6
It’s been a year since 12-year-old Owen’s artist mom died, but he and his dad are still adjusting to the changes. While Owen is focusing on his soccer games, his dad hasn’t written anything since “the Longest Day.” When he starts writing again, Owen is sucked into the dystopian landscape of his father’s futuristic story and hopes that by living out the story he can help his dad heal.
Despite the semi-sentimental play on one of the oldest tropes of fiction, Storm Walker focuses on action and suspense. The characters are generally white, male, and even bland with personality imbedded in events more than anything else. Some readers may find the British English confusing, particularly with the sports terminology, but otherwise this dystopian book aims at a younger crowd than most. As a second novel, some of the issues such as not capitalizing on the ramifications of the father as author of the story and neglect of some of the more interesting aspects of the situation are likely to be worked out in future books. Although the writing builds up a generous amount of anticipation, the final plot reveal seems too simple, especially in comparison. In the end, this book may find a place in libraries in want of male-oriented, action-packed, and/or younger dystopian adventures.
VERDICT Storm Walker produces a story that is at once intriguing and tiresome that may appeal to middle graders more than adults.
Grades 4-6
It’s been a year since 12-year-old Owen’s artist mom died, but he and his dad are still adjusting to the changes. While Owen is focusing on his soccer games, his dad hasn’t written anything since “the Longest Day.” When he starts writing again, Owen is sucked into the dystopian landscape of his father’s futuristic story and hopes that by living out the story he can help his dad heal.
Despite the semi-sentimental play on one of the oldest tropes of fiction, Storm Walker focuses on action and suspense. The characters are generally white, male, and even bland with personality imbedded in events more than anything else. Some readers may find the British English confusing, particularly with the sports terminology, but otherwise this dystopian book aims at a younger crowd than most. As a second novel, some of the issues such as not capitalizing on the ramifications of the father as author of the story and neglect of some of the more interesting aspects of the situation are likely to be worked out in future books. Although the writing builds up a generous amount of anticipation, the final plot reveal seems too simple, especially in comparison. In the end, this book may find a place in libraries in want of male-oriented, action-packed, and/or younger dystopian adventures.
VERDICT Storm Walker produces a story that is at once intriguing and tiresome that may appeal to middle graders more than adults.
June 20, 2016
A truly exciting, imaginative story about a boy who becomes the hero of his writer Dad's terrifying story. This is a fantastic book. A terrific, action thriller with a real emotional core. It covers grief, loss, friendship and football and wraps them up in a page turning, adventure - my emotions were all over the place! I really couldn't put it down.
December 22, 2016
Stormwalker, by Mike Revell, is a beautifully well written tale about a son and father experiencing heavy grief over the loss of his mom/wife. This tale shares the true terrors of grief, and how the two overcome this terrifying stage of their lives, together, as son and father.
December 23, 2016
Really good book I recommend it
December 23, 2016
I won this book through Goodreads. Heartbreaking but beautiful. Father and son find a way to get through their grief in a different way that works for them. Loved it.
December 14, 2017
Storm walkers was a very very good book written by mike revell. I loved the settings of this book because it was relatable and realistic sometimes and sometimes it was a fantasy dystopian setting that was a really good contrast to the other setting which was the life of a person in school just like us. I really liked the character Owen because he’s similar to me in some ways. For example Owen loves soccer just like me and just like me bad things happen to him by chance and not by his own fault. For example one of the bad things is that his mom died and my best friend died just a few years ago so this book was very comforting to read because it was about someone dealing with a similar experience to what I had. It talks about how his mom died on the longest day (that’s what he calls the day when his mother dies). It talks about the longest day many times throughout the book. One of the times when it talks about the longest day is when he is teleported into his father’s latest novel where he becomes his literary doppelgänger jake. The novel is his father’s way of dealing with his grief and its about a community called icarus 3 where a darkness is trying to attack and turn everyone dreamless (a state in which your soul and mind get ripped out of your body). And the first time the darkness gets close to jake (owen) it shows him memories of the longest day, it shows him the memories of his mother telling him she barely had any time left to live and Luke crying and hearing fro the doctor that his mother had died of leukemia. This books plot was amazingly written by mike revell and keeps you interested the entire time. I love the plot because it switches from a realistic fiction storyline to a fantasy timeline at the perfect moments so you never end up getting bored of the book or the plot. One of the other things I loved about this story was that it talked about how even if your not older or wiser than someone older than you you can still help them cope with horrible things like a death or maybe even something worse than that. This book is adventurous, heart breaking, and dramatic and I loved the book. Thank you mark revell for this literary adventure called storm walkers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews