Beyond the Storm review

 

I have just finished reading Beyond the Storm, book 1 in the Quilts of Love series & it is wonderful. I read the Kindle version & this is the first book I have read on the Kindle that I have wanted the hard copy of. The novel by Carolyn Zane is loosely cased on the Joplin & Tuscaloosa tornadoes of 2011. I could really visualize the tornado & aftermath having seen the tornado footage from Tuscaloosa & the damage to the towns of Greensburg, Kansas, which was wiped out by a 2007 tornado, & Joplin. This is a story of strength, forgiveness, surviving a natural disaster & hope for the future. You definitely need to have a box of Kleenex by your side as you read.

As the story opens it is the morning of the tornado. Times given throughout the chapters serve as a countdown to the tornado. Radio broadcasts track the storm & warn residents of the approaching tornado. One of the statements the weatherman says is that "Aside from the actual twister, complacency is probably the most dangerous thing of all." You see this later when a newby asks if the storm warning siren doesn't mean they should run for cover now & a local tells him that no, they get them all the time in the spring. I know that local's feeling. I've been known to go outside looking for the tornado when the sirens have sounded. As the tornado hits it may be hard for some who have gone through something like this to read. In the aftermath of the tornado, Abigail starts picking up scraps of fabric she finds as she wonders through the destruction. Her aunt's house isn't hit so 3 other families join her aunt & her in a communal living arrangement. Abigail's aunt owned the quilt shop in town & she knows that quilting will help this "family" to heal from the disaster. The scraps that Abigail has picked up becomes the basis for this quilt. Each person creates their own square & even friends of the family become involved. This quilt becomes a Storm Signal quilt & it does help in the healing. Even though there are heart wrenching moments, there are also some funny ones like then the guys are trying the tie the quilt. First time I've heard of using pliers to quilt a quilt.

I highly recommend this book. Even though it is part of a series all the books stand alone.

Introducing the Quilts of Love series is an article at Novel Crossing discussing the series.