"In Vanessa Chan's spellbinding debut, one woman's desire to change her destiny shapes the future of a colonized nation. Combining cinematic grandeur with nuanced storytelling, The Storm We Made offers the hidden history that only fiction can reveal: the everyday yearnings of people surviving a brutal occupation, children trying to make sense of the unspeakable, and the search for love. I'll never forget this book."
--Jessamine Chan, New York Times best-selling author of The School for Good Mothers "Devastatingly beautiful and extraordinary . . . Vanessa shines an evocative light on this piece of history. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time."
--Jessica George, New York Times best-selling author of Maame "Vanessa Chan's The Storm We Made is a phenomenon unto itself. This is no mere debut, but rather the summoning of a story buried so deeply in a nation that it could only surface with a talent great enough to do it justice."
--Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk and The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing "Like the most dazzling historical fiction, THE STORM WE MADE etches intimate details on an epic canvas. Vanessa Chan's characters face agonizing choices under the darkness of colonization and war, and yet she imbues them with an indelible spirit of resistance that never lets you forget the light. A fearless, gripping, morally complex story by a writer to watch."
-Dawnie Walton, national best-selling author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
"An intricate puzzle in which [Chan] deftly moves narrative pieces in time and among viewpoints." --Booklist
"The Storm We Made is brave, funny and immensely moving. One of the most powerful and confident debuts I've ever read. A storytelling star is born!"
--Tracy Chevalier, author of the international bestseller, Girl with a Pearl Earring
"Exceptionally brave. Heart-breaking, beautiful, and moving. Destined to be a classic. The Storm We Made is a celebration of stories that have been silenced or erased. Vanessa Chan writes with admirable power, confidence and grace. By confronting the horror of colonization and war, this book opens the pathway to peace and healing. A significant contribution to world's literature."
--Nguyen Phan Que Mai, author of the international bestseller, The Mountains Sing and Dust Child
"The Storm We Made is poised to be a breakout debut of 2024." --Kate Dwyer, Esquire
"The intrigue begins from page one of Malaysian author Vanessa Chan's much-heralded debut novel. This historical family saga tells the story of a Malayan mother caught up in espionage during World War II through varying points of view, handled expertly by Chan." --Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle, Datebook "19 New Books to Cozy Up With This Winter"