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In Every Storm, Wick takes us back to a world not so long gone, to a time when the world was changing thanks to the Second World War. Separating itself from a lot of other era-books, this story’s setting is merely a backdrop to a timeless tale dealing with loss and recovery, and, of course, love. The first characters we meet are Josie and Lorri Archer, two sisters from southern California who are then in Australia teaching on a large cattle ranch. Josie, the eldest, is engaged to a kind man now fighting for his country, whom she hasn’t seen in years. The two are in regular contact with their mother, Ruth, and younger sister, Maxine–Max–but the only family member they have seen since their move to Australia is their grandfather, Dean, an admiral in the Navy. After sending the sisters off on vacation, we then are introduced to Donovan Riggs, a naval Lieutenant in command of a PT boat patrolling the South Pacific. He is what the reader has come to expect from a Wick hero–"dreamy," as the Archer girls put it, with a strong faith and an inherent gentleness. His boat, Every Storm–named after its propensity to find every cloudburst in the Pacific–is in constant need of repairs, which leads them to land on a deserted island that isn’t quite deserted after all; on it is the wreckage of a plane and a very emaciated and befuddled Lorri Archer. All of this happens rather quickly in the narrative, so it’s rather shocking to the reader when we find Lorri in this condition, since no hint was given the last we saw the Archers. The vast majority of the story is taken up by the after-affects of this situation; Rigg and his men rescue Lorri, deliver her to her grandfather after a few misadventures, and then we follow Lorri as she goes home to her mother and sister and works on recovering, both from the physical trauma she endured on the island for six weeks, and the emotion devastation that the plane crash caused. The process is very touching and nearly had me–a definite stoic when it comes to such things–in tears. It’s coincidence that leads our hero and heroine together again, and after a hundred pages of mourning, the reader is ready for an uplifting romance, which Wick delivers. My biggest complaint with this book is one I’ve had with quite a few of Wick’s later ones: the characters, even in their flaws, are perfect. They no more than doubt than they realize they shouldn’t, they barely articulate a worry before they’re praying for forgiveness. I’m all for strong faith and good examples, but the constant degree of attention to these details borders on making the characters stilted and unrealistic. I don’t know any twenty-seven year old men who never so much as glance at a pin-up when it’s on the wall, but perhaps they’re out there, and perhaps Lorri Archer found one. Indeed, though she comes into contact with characters much less virtuous, they are most definitely portrayed as being the other kind of person. I have found, in life, that the lines are much more blurred. They probably shouldn’t be, and in Wick’s world, they’re often not. I’m never sure whether to praise her for this or shake my head. She does, however, have some very believable characters, primarily the youngest Archer, Max, who doubles as comic relief. Overall, I would say that Every Storm is a good book that portrays God’s faithfulness in all life’s trials, definitely worth the few hours it’ll take to read it. I may not read it two or three times as I have some of Wick’s earlier books, but it’s enjoyable and touching and left me with a smile on my face, which I appreciated after having those embarrassing tears in my eyes.
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