TAKEN BY STORM by Angela Morrison

TAKEN BY STORM is the story of true love meant to last a lifetime but pulled in different directions by strong beliefs and life's experiences.

Michael and his parents have a great relationship.  Living between Arizona and Florida, they have an adventurous life.  Scuba diving and free diving have been part of Michael's life as long as he can remember.  He has probably spent more time with his parents on coral reefs and sunken wreckages then he has on dry land.  That is until the fateful boat trip that took them into the path of Hurricane Isadore.  Michael survived, but his parents were lost.

Now Michael is living with his grandmother in the Pacific Northwest, just about as far away from the Florida Keys as he can imagine.  He is facing his senior year in a new high school, and his nights are filled with nightmares of the hurricane and the screams of his parents.  The only thing Michael can think about is free diving.  It's the one thing that can save him from the helpless feelings haunting day and night.

Then he meets Leesie, a beautiful, God-fearing Mormon girl.  It's hard to believe he has room for thoughts of someone else, but Leesie has a way about her that reminds him of the floating sensation of a free dive.  She is easy to talk to and he finds himself sharing feelings he thought would be impossible to reveal to anyone. 

As their friendship moves toward romance, Michael learns Leesie has strong and unbending religious beliefs.  It seems the Mormons had rules about everything, and Leesie is bound and determined to adhere to those rules no matter what.  Although, she makes him feel better about things than he has since his parents' deaths, she also frustrates Michael beyond belief. 

TAKEN BY STORM is a unique mix of Leesie's poetry, Michael's reflection as written in his diving log, and online chatroom discussions.  Angela Morrison reveals two teens drawn together by love, yet pulled apart by vastily different goals and beliefs.  Readers will ride the emotional waves as the two determine whether either can change enough for the relationship to last a lifetime.