Rating: 
Summary: Engrossing story from a very promising newcomer
Review: A gripping account of what it's like to be the younger sister of a charismatic young woman suffering from bipolar disorder. Rachel Hall has done a masterful job of showing us the many contrary emotions felt by her heroine -- the embarrassment, the guilt, and even the jealousy. Stacy is made to feel responsible for her sister's happiness and well-being by their widowed mother, who
is way out of her depth trying to cope with her troubled golden girl. Hall has a wonderful writing style, full of contemporary life and with believable dialogue from all the characters. (I especially enjoyed Stacy's pejorative "Bread and cheese!" when she's totally frustrated.) The sisters have some beautifully crafted moments of extraordinary affection and intimacy, counterbalanced by the scenes of utter madness and loss of control. You can't help but sympathize with everyone caught up in the web of this awful disease, but our hearts especially ache for Stacy, who even risks losing her husband when she insists on putting her sister's needs before everyone else's, including her own. Another unusual and interesting aspect of the novel is the emphasis on religion and the important part the church plays in the family's life, strengthening at times, and causing enormous rifts at others. I think readers will be intrigued by this glimpse into the lives of well-to-do members of the African American community in Los Angeles, and will end the book wondering if they and their parents would behave any differently if they found themselves in the Moore family's situation.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Story About Mental Illness
Review: A Quiet Storm is a book about the Moore family, comprised of two sisters and their mother, who try to hide a secret; Rikki, the older sister, has a mental disorder. Stacy, the younger sister, has given herself the responsibility to keep a constant watch over her sister to make sure that she does not hurt herself or anyone else. As the story begins, Rikki is being questioned by the police as to the whereabouts of her husband.A Quiet storm, written by Rachel Howzell Hall, is an amazing story of how a family will go to great lengths to keep deep, dark secrets. This is also a story that strongly portrays the denial that goes on with trying to come to terms with a mental disorder that runs in the family. This is a story that grabs you from the beginning and takes you on a journey that you won't soon forget and the story concludes with the answer to the question "What happened to Rikki's husband"? Rachel Howzell Hall should be commended for writing a story about a mental disorder since she managed to handle the topic with such compassion, sincerity, and wit. Excellent debut novel from an author to watch.
Rating:
Summary: A peak into mental illness
Review: A Quiet Storm is a vividly, riveting tale of how one family handles the issue of mental illness. I enjoyed the book and the way the author accurately portrayed the symptoms and life struggles of a woman with a mental illness. The book makes you laugh and cry. The book does an excellent job of portraying a family trying to maintain the status quo in the midst of a swirl of family secrets and betrayal. The relationship between the two sisters is masterfully written. As a mental health professional I have listened to the story of many clients who struggle with these issues as they try to make it from day to day. The book is spellbinding. A great book for book clubs.
The author has a real gift for painting a word picture.
Though the book is fiction, the story could be one we hear of unfortunately in real life. This book is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: The Slow Descent
Review: A Quiet Storm is an honest and haunting view of how mental illness can seep slowly into a family's reality and twist their lives towards an inevitable confrontation. The characters ring true and the situations that arise throughout the story are powerful and thought-provoking. If you have been close to a family member suffering from depression, the relationship between the two sisters in this story will feel familiar to you in a very positive way. The author does a good job of exploring a tough and emotional story without making overt judgements or coming to simple conclusions. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing first novel by a very talented author.
Review: A Quiet Storm is one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time. It's a compelling portrayal of family life, told from the point of view of a young woman living in the shadow of her (nearly) perfect older sister. While it tackles the serious issue of mental illness, the author has crafted a tale full of warmth, wit and humor to which we can all relate. I highly recommend this book and am very much looking forward to reading Ms. Hall's next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Serious
Review: A Quiet Storm was a very good book about mental illness and how is destroys all involved not just the one with the illnes. This book also taught me a few things about how this sickness takes over your mind and how the warning signs can easily be ignored as just a simple depression or someone is just upset about something that you or me might think is stupid and its a really big thing to he or she. This is not the first book I read about mental illnesses, but it is one of the good ones; I will recommend it. Later....
Rating:
Summary: Really Good Book! Powerful
Review: Couldn't put the book down. Rachel was able to describe passionately the horrors of hiding a mental illness in the family. As a social worker, I found her descriptions of family dynamics and dysfunction powerful and accurate. As a fellow Los Angelean it was fun to read about all of the issues of teen years like k-swiss, jordache, etc. This book would be an excellent teaching tool for Graduate Programs in Social Work and Psychology. Good work Rachel! Can't wait for the next one!
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: I got this in the mail, and was planning on passing it over, yet I opened the book, and started reading a few pages, then some more til I finished this book within a couple of hours. Here's my take on this. We hate to know if we or someone we love is less than perfect. Why oh why did the mama in this story do this?? Perhaps she could have done something better with her life than what she did, and her family had no regard for Stacy.(I believe she deserves her own story to be heard)And why didn't she go off on them for their treatment of her?? Oh, this is too much. This sister just about had her at her beck and call, and she barely got any love. Personally when she was ready to get busy with her hubby, she should have turned off the phone completely. Heck, she deserved a life too.A good book. A great effort by Ms Hall. Look forward for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: A Quiet Storm
Review: I loved this book. I made time to read this within two days. It was an easy read with an interesting story line. It lets you see how denying things almost always results in unhappy endings. This book really pulled me in right from the start. It is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: The Quiet Storm - Excellent!
Review: I read this book in 2 days! I thought it was very well written and I'll look forward to more writings by this new, talented author. The way she took us into the lives of the destruction of mental illness and a family's inability to deal with it made you feel as if you were there - part of everything that happened. Without giving anything away, I also thought the story was sad because the character who suffered from mental illness was at most times unreachable by those who loved her and she didn't know how to let them help - so it was like sitting and watching your house burn down without being able to do anything about it. I recommend this book to everyone who loves to read. And I thank the author (Rachel Hall) for sharing her talents; wish her good luck and hopefuly she'll write more soon!
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