Taming the Wind

by Michelle Thompson

Claire's life will never be the same. After a horrific car accident takes the lives of her parents and siblings, fifteen-year-old Claire's dreams of becoming a soccer star are dashed, and she finds herself alone and without a home. Forced to move in with her estranged grandparents, Claire feels like her life is being blown by the wind and she has no idea how to make it stop. This heartbreaking story of one girl's struggle to find meaning in tragedy will draw you in from the very first page. Join Claire as she learns to embrace the winds of change and find love, faith, and hope for the future.

Genres: Young Adult, Lds

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Michelle Thompson grew up in New Mexico, Tennessee and Arizona and has twelve brothers and sisters (biological, adopted and step). She has a Bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in Family and Human Development. She is the author of "Taming the Wind", a young adult fiction novel and "Flames of Redemption", a young adult fiction novel, and has had multiple freelance columns published in Arizona State University’s newspaper, The State Press, and in the Douglas Daily Dispatch (Douglas, Arizona). She has also written a children’s book, "Afraid, a book for children 'at risk' for Huntington’s disease", printed by the Huntington’s disease Society of America. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband and their three boys.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really surprised how much I liked this book. It was a difficult story to read, but knowing that Claire lost her whole family before I started the book, seemed to help lessen the sadness of it. (Not a spoiler- it's from the book jacket) It was definitely a story about loss, but much more it was about survival, endurance, healing and finally faith. Jesse was amazing and I kept having to remind myself that these were only teenagers struggling to get through. (I really disliked the chapter titles because I don't like knowing what is about to happen and they spoiled it a bit for me. I hope the author doesn't continue the practice with her future books.) It ended up being a very uplifting book about hope, and left me smiling.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good. It made me think too. How would I feel or what would I do if I lost all of my family in a car accident and lose all my friends, home, school, everything at the same time. Move in with strangers practically and start a whole other life. And on top of that, do all that without my knowledge of the gospel. I take so much for granted. I thought it was really well done and had a really cute love story in it at the same time. Made me realize that every day is worth celebrating no matter what.

[Heidi Pack · Rating 4 out of 5]

a sweet book on mourning and loss

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing story from a promising author.Claire had it all going for her. She was 15, beautiful,had a supportive family, an amazing soccer player and her team had just won the state championship. On the way home her family gets in auto accident and she is the sole survivor. She has sustained numerous injuries to her leg, shoulder where the bullet hit and this is nothing compared to the emotional and psychological injuries. Her maternal grandmother, who she has never met is now her caregiver. She takes her away from Arizona to Colorado to live on their farm. In the process she meets, Jesse Cline, who helps with the chores of her aging grandparents.
Jessie helps her to heal from the deep wounds inside by his ability to be with her and help her feel less alone. She struggles to open up and help the emotions flow and live with the guilt of her families loss being her fault in coming to her game. She slowly finds healing through the wind. The wind affects everything around us and if you aren't willing to bend with it's force (our trials) it will devour you. Just like any storm, it subsides and growth is the result from it's rain just as in life. Amazing story of growth, faith, and the knowledge of the gospel that she is exposed to and how it helps her to finally heal and look forward to seeing her family again.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I loved the writing in this book- I thought it was beautiful. It started out really well, but after awhile I started to grow weary of all the accidents that occurred to hurt Claire- it started to really get annoying and tedious after awhile. I wish that she would have been introduced to the gospel sooner- I wanted to be on that journey with her- I feel like the car accident at the end would have been more pivotal if she hadn't already reopened old wounds and reinjured herself so many times. I loved Jesse but I didn't really understand why he loved Claire so much- she didn't have much to give him. I also wished the author would have written the language Claire uses in a less "Mormon" way. I don't know any nonmembers who use the words "faith" and peaceful reassurance so readily. Overall, there were a lot of great elements in this book and I think Thompson will only get better, so I will read her future books.

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes the reader on an emotional journey. The protagonist, Claire, is dealing with the roller coaster of surviving an accident in which her parents and brothers died.

The myriad of emotions, thoughts, and actions that happen in the story seemed realistic to me. I could imagine someone experiencing them in the way portrayed.

I loved the analogy of the wind. The wind continues in it's path, it doesn't change, everything learns to adapt to the wind. That theme is brought up in several places in the story that complimented and explained Claire's state of mind.

The book also contains romance and religious events. It is mainly about a young woman who is learning to live with and eventually accept the blow that life has handed her.

[Denisse · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating is slightly biased because I went to school with the author. ;) Michelle and I played on the soccer team together; she was an awesome soccer player and I was terrible. I looked up to her then as a player and I look up to her now as a writer. I was very excited to read her novel when it was published and it was fun to see how she wove elements of her own personal life into the story. I am so proud of Michelle and am looking forward to reading her next novel. Teenagers will be able to relate to the protagonist in this novel and will learn how to overcome tragedy and find hope even in the most trying of circumstances.

[Julia Talbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very well written. It was very easy to feel connected to Claire, the main character. I could feel each emotion as she was feeling them and I just wanted to tell her it would be okay. The book was easy to become engrossed in and while I wanted to read it as fast as I could to see how it ended, I was sad when it was. This book was a great read not only for adults but for youth as well.

[Beth Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was meant for my teenage daughter, but I read it first. It's about a 15 year old who survives a car crash that kills her family. She goes to give with grandparents she'd never met before and most of the story is about her recovery. Parts of the story was very unrealistic to me, but I think most teens wouldn't notice that as much as I did.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I know Michelle and her boys. they were a wonderful family and we were good friends with each other. As I read the book I was touched. The feeling of love for Claire and her predicament was overwhelming. As I read I thought about how I would react to something like that. I realized how much I owe to the gospel and how glad I am for eternal families. Thank you Michelle!

[Dorry Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a 15 year old who struggles to find meaning in her life after so much tragedy. She has to go to her grandparents to live and she does not even know them. She learns to deal with change and eventually finds some hope.

[Evieccurtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought Taming the Wind was a great story..especially for teens. I read it straight through in less than two days, then recommended it to others, especially the teens I work with. Would I read another book by this author? Yes!!

[Juneve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michelle Thompson has beautifully portrayed a young girl's journey through unbearable grief and pain toward a healing peace. She has described in words how the wind of change blows us to and fro at times, but can also carry us to a settling and quiet comfort.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book before and just grabbed it the other day to read again. I read it a lot slower than I did the first time and I really enjoyed it. I love YA fiction and this one is short, sweet and full of meaning. A young girl overcoming tragedy. It's a great read!

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for teens. Claire learns some hard lessons from life; she is the only survivor in a car crash that kills the rest of her family members.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far this book is good, but kind of sad. Can't put it down though.

[Charmaine Puzey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was ok. Pretty teeny bopperish.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lot of trauma that seemed to be solved suddenly. I think I would have enjoyed it more had there been more to that part of the story.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for teens- good story, real issues. I thought it was well written.

[Alesha Holt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it!! It was different to see them fall in love at such an early age! But i loved it

[Wall-to-wall books - wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW! This was an amazing book! Very sad, I was in tears within the first few pages! Very heartfelt. Wonderful story!

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

[Suzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, but be prepared to cry, a lot! Heartbreaking but so full of hope and forgiveness and second chances.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT!!!!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book that looks at how a young girl deals with the death of the rest of her family

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring and predictable and not enough character development.