Michael Kun

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Report: Picking up where 2003's The Locklear Letters left off, Sid Straw is leaving Baltimore in his rear-view mirror for the sunny, balmy climes of 2005 California, home of go-go-go and way too much money. On his way to take a job at Velocity Computers, Sid sends letters and postcards home to his recently-ex girlfriend, his mom and dad, his adored little nephew, as well as ahead to his college friend Heather...Locklear, that is, blonde bombshell actress...and his show more future employer's various official departments on every conceivable subject. He's particularly concerned that he get his personalized letterhead. Since the whole novel is letters from Sid, all 306pp of it, one can easily see why.

Hotel managers hear about bad in-room television service (no details, no spoilers, too funny to ruin), the company HR prune-lipped tightass hears about the letterhead, along with apologies for calling one of the accounting clerks fat while on an online dating site; Sid learns that his enthusiasm for old television shows doesn't mean it's safe to use the handle "TVLover123" on that online dating site, resulting in a hilarious exchange of notes with someone called "TVGirl," Heather, his college friend talks him down off ledges and bails him out of jail, all thanked by courteous notes...but Sid goes so far as to write notes to the hero cop who arrested him for cat poisoning (not a joke) even though he's innocent and who is suspended from the police force after Sid accuses him of being a violent racist which he didn't and this leads the Los Angeles Times investigative reporter to start a series of false and misleading articles about SYD Straw a transient/vagrant cat-poisoning liar (with the same name as a famous folk singer) which leads to...

...spiraling insanity, lawsuits, and ultimately one of the most surprising, touching, delightful, feel-good happy endings I've read in this century.

My Review: Everyone knows Sid Straw. Annoying, well-meaning, just a little bit socially tone-deaf, a little too intense, but a nice guy who never means to cause the mayhem he's always causing around himself. He's not exactly one of the gang and not exactly not. But he's always busy with something, and usually it blows up in his face.

Boy howdy, does this new job blow up in his face! A couple megatons go off under his feet when he gets to the new job and deals with a go-go, rock-'em-sock-'em boss who wants to be called "Mav" because it was Tom Cruise's nickname in Top Gun. There's even a movie poster for it in the conference room. And Sid becomes "Goose." And there's another guy called "Iceman." Could it get any cheesier? And yet, through Sid's lens, he's workin' it hard to keep the job, when the whole fat-co-worker incident conflates with the whole bad-in-room-movie incident and, well, bye bye job.

A return visit to Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas to assuage his misery (and use the paid-fo, non-refundable room) causes one of the funniest incidents in the book, where his cranky response to the management's attempt at humor meets his unresolved love for the girl who dumped him, thus causing him no end of agony and getting the Las Vegas Health Department to quarantine him for almost a week as a suspected disease vector.

This book is a screwball comedy waiting to be filmed. It is quick, both in pace and in wit, and it is flawlessly self-centered as the best comedies are, and it keeps the pages flying, as the most enjoyable books do. Michael Kun, author of You Poor Monster and A Thousand Benjamins, has a deft hand, a keen eye, and a kind heart to go with his quick, acid-tipped tongue. show less

I requested this all the way back in July 2017 and when the library unexpectedly added it to their collection this year, I couldn’t remember why I’d wanted to read it. But I’m very glad the library reminded me of its existence -- I was quickly hooked.

It’s 1982 and Cath has gone off to college, while her neighbour/school friend Scott has stayed home to work in his dad’s clothing store. Through letters, they support each other as they deal with transitions, relationship woes and show more family dramas. Their letters are poignant and funny, with a running in-joke referring to a classmate’s “We Are Still Tornadoes” graduation speech. I like that they have to learn how to translate their friendship into written words, and make mistakes along the way. Their letters also believably convey what happens when they meet in-person -- sometimes it takes several letters to piece together the full story and that kept me wondering.

(My only quibble would be that it ends a bit abruptly, and I do think the authors could have found a believable way to have a letter tell us a bit more of what happens, rather than relying so much on implying. But anyway.)

Did I tell you that my dad is giving me a 10% discount off anything at the store? How cool is that? (I’m being serious. I really want to know how cool that is. I think the answer is, “Not very,” but I’m not sure.) show less

4.5 stars.

We Are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun & Susan Mullen is a humorous, poignant and heartwarming novel. Set in 1982, lifelong friends Scott Agee and Cath Osteen exchange letters as Cath goes off to college while Scott stays in their hometown to work in his family owned clothing store.

Although Cath is excited about attending college, she is a little homesick as she settles into dorm life. Through her letters to Scott, she fills him on her somewhat quirky roommate, freshman shenanigans show more and her surprisingly close friendship with Jane. From her first college romance to struggling to keep up in her classes, she humorously and sometimes sarcastically keeps her best friend apprised of everything going on her life. Her letters take on an unexpected serious tone as her first holiday visit home approaches and Cath finds out unsettling, life changing information about her parents.

Back home, Scott is adjusting to working in the clothing store and while he is not exactly overjoyed with his career path, he is appreciative that working with his dad has improved their relationship. With self-deprecating humor, he minimizes his decision to coast through high school but as the months pass, he is rather contemplative as he tries to understand why he chose not to focus on going to college. Forming a band with some of his friends provides Scott the opportunity to try his hand at songwriting and they reach a measure of success performing gigs at local establishments. While the majority of his letters are light-hearted and humor-filled, they become much more serious after an unexpected loss.

Although Cath and Scott do talk on the phone and see one another in person, these events are only referenced during letters they write after the fact. Their letters occasionally cross in the mail so there are a handful of slightly confusing out of sequence exchanges but the next letter helps make sense of things. The more serious aspects of their correspondence are deftly balanced with their playful banter and personal jokes. The occasional misunderstanding sometimes leads to angry exchanges but their longstanding friendship easily survives these squabbles.

An absolutely charming novel with a nostalgic vibe due to music references, mix tapes and letter exchanges, We Are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun & Susan Mullen has a refreshingly unique storyline and a wonderful cast of characters. While the overall tone of the novel is upbeat, Cath and Scott also undergo serious, life-altering events that strengthen their friendship. All in all, it is a captivating read that I absolutely loved and highly recommend to readers of all ages. show less

Let me tell you that this book is just the definition of fluff. Though it does cover some more serious topics, reading it was like inhaling cotton candy for three hours. Pure bliss.
I have seen reviews where people complain about the writing style and how it's written in letters, but I think it's perfect.
First of all, for the two main characters to even be able to have the same backstory as they do right now, with Scott taking a gap year for his dad's clothing business, and Cath off going to show more college and having new experiences, you can only have this in epistolary to really express the emotions and events that this book was able to do.
If you're judging a book on the genre and format, I really don't think you should leave a reading solely on that, because if the genre and format fits, and in this case, I don't think the story would've been ever expressed better in other formats, like POVs. I was a bit surprised when I opened it and saw letters, but it was a pleasant change and soon I got used to it.
This is a friends-to-lovers story, and the only reason I'm rating this 4.5 stars is because I do think the ending might of left some people disappointed, and though I was rooting for them to be together, it didn't happen until the very end, which leaves me with a bit of a strange feeling. There was no romantic tension or suggestions of them feeling romantic to each other until Scott confesses. Don't get me wrong, this was an awesome book, and though the ending may seem short for some people, I like how it left the story with an open-ended love story. Now we the reader can imagine what Scott and Cath will do.
The 1982 setting was a nice touch, after all, no one exchanges letters anymore, and it's nice to see what college would've been like with no screens or phones to distract us. It reminds me of a simpler time, and if I were to describe this book, it would be: A love in a simpler, more beautiful (in different ways) time. Nostalgic, and bittersweet were what I felt. A longing for a time before when I could experience a love like this.
This book left me extremely happy and sad at the same time, and I'm very glad I read it.
Though this might not be everyone's cup of tea, I'd recommend giving it a try!

Side note: The title (if you don't mind understanding what it means) just makes me so warm and fuzzy inside because what it's implying is that we are still the young wild and crazy kids from when we were kids and nothing mattered. No matter where you go, we are still Tornadoes. Also has something to do with a sport team that they love, the Tornadoes (read this a month ago so my memory isn't the most accurate on this piece of information) show less