The Storm Makers (by Jennifer E. Smith)

The Storm Makers
by Jennifer E. Smith
Release date : April 3rd, 2012

Enter the world of The Storm Makers, where there's magic behind every forecast.
What starts as an ordinary summer turns exciting and perilous for twins Ruby and Simon when strange occurrences begin happening on their farm -- sudden gusts of wind, rainstorms, and even tornado warnings -- that seem eerily timed to Simon's emotions.Then a stranger arrives and tells the twins that Simon is a Storm Maker -- part of a clandestine group of people entrusted with controlling and taming the weather -- and that he is in great danger. Soon Simon and Ruby must race against the clock as they try to master Simon's powers in time to stop a rogue Storm Maker's treacherous -- and potentially deadly -- plans.
In this thrilling new adventure, loyalties can shift as quickly as the wind . . . and the ordinary can turn extraordinary in the blink of an eye. (from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS : My feelings about this book are kinda mixed... I read THE STORM MAKERS after having read THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT (by the same author - review here) which I'd loved! It's not the same kind of book at all, and I knew it, but my expectations were quite high...

The writing itself and the whole story treatment really are enjoyable. The plot's basis is interesting and intriguing. Ruby, the main character, is endearing, and I loved that she didn't have the special powers that her brother had. It's unusual that the hero of a book lacks the power that makes the plot.

But unfortunately the whole story is extremely predictable. I won't share any spoilers as examples, but let's just say the last part of the book was foreseeable since earlier on. What started of as an exciting plot became a bit basic for me. And I didn't find the adventure in itself very thrilling. The simple fact that the story revolves around the ability to change the weather could've brought on more unusual and surprising situations,  and also more "meteorologic". But we're more focused on the characters than on the magic itself. I didn't like how sugary certains scenes were either... Too Disney-like for my taste, and I thought they were breaking the realistic roots of the story.

All in all, THE STORM MAKERS was a pleasant read, I had a nice time, but I think it lacked more development and that it was a bit too "simple".

You can check out my review of THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by the same author.