A Wind in Montana

A Wind in Montana

by Mitch Davies

ISBN:978-0984390700

Publisher: Pensmith

Reviewed by: Malissa for A Cozy Reader's Corner

A Wind in Montana is a story about teenagers coming of age in a small Montana town.  They struggle between choosing their own future and the future others have planned for them.  It’s also a love story of two innocent teenagers discovering the passions in life.

Rory is a hard working young man struggling to secure the future he envisions versus the one his teachers see for him.  In this process he discovers his true calling in life.  I found him to be a very likeable character that was very well developed. His parents and older brother don’t really understand him.  They aren’t bad people, just different.  He doesn’t think they are interested in his life.  Their family dynamic was believable yet somewhat sad.  They function more as individuals instead of a cohesive family unit.

Victoria is a very talented musician from a family of musicians.  Her parents expect her to continue life as musician.  I think they see more talent in her than they ever had as musicians and want her to be the performer they couldn’t be.  Where Rory’s family is not as involved in his future, Victoria’s family is very involved.  She is struggling to be seen as more than a “musician.”

The supporting characters are mostly believable.  The music teacher was a little over the top in his pushing of his students to stick with music.  I found his character a little hard to believe.  The other teenagers in the story were like typical teens today. The relationships they formed were enjoyable to read about.  I really liked Rory’s chemistry teacher.  He was the kind of teacher most kids want, young enough to relate to the students, but still professional enough to keep them on track and motivated.  He knew how to inspire his students to learn. 

The love story between Rory and Victoria was very believable.  They discovered their bodies together as most teenagers/young adults do.  The level of heat in the book was fairly low.  There was sex, but no graphic detail. 

Over all I really enjoyed this book.  It was told by the narrator and was very easy to read.  I thought it flowed nicely.  The small town setting was perfect for this story. It was the kind of town kids want to escape when they grow up.  I would definitely re-read this book as well as read more from this author. I would really like to see what happens next with these characters.