The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jennifer E. Smith is an author I know because of her awesome YA book The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. Her doing a weather-based fantasy for middle readers? Count me in, I thought! Unfortunately, the book didn't meet my expectations.
The concept is great - we learn that there are people capable of controlling the weather, and one of our two child protagonists is one of them, and may be one of the strongest yet. What results is a power struggle between the Storm Makers of who will run the show and how the powers they wield will be used.
This has some passing similarity to Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner, which came out a few months after this and takes a more scientific approach in its futuristic, weather-controlling story. As a result, it ends up being a better, more consistent, and more suspenseful book. The Storm Makers feels like has less at stake, is more fantastical, and might be a little overlong on its own, never mind in comparison to Eye.
It fits a niche well enough, but it's not the best in its class, or even overall. It's worth a read for this specific genre if you're into it, but it's hardly what I'd consider essential.
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