cover image Taken by Storm

Taken by Storm

Angela Morrison, . . Razorbill, $16.99 (291pp) ISBN 978-1-59514-238-2

First-time author Morrison offers her take on the theme of forbidden romance in this moving novel. Leesie, a devout Mormon, lives by her church’s teachings (“No parking. No necking. No petting. No fornication”) and is looking forward to attending Brigham Young University, where there will be “thousands and thousands of the hottest guys on the planet who all live by the same rules.” But that’s before she falls in love with “outsider” Michael, a scuba diver. Michael awakens a passion in Leesie that she doesn’t know she possesses, and Leesie provides a soothing distraction for Michael, who still has nightmares about the hurricane that killed his parents. Through Michael’s dive-log journal entries, Leesie’s poetry and online chats, Morrison conveys underlying tensions that threaten the teenagers’ relationship and test their moral codes. By contrasting Leesie and Michael’s often opposing backgrounds and points of view, she handles the topics of religion and premarital sex gracefully without passing judgment. The message has less to do with religion than learning to respect and cherish others while staying true to one’s own beliefs. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)