Tornado

December 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up-It's Friday afternoon and 16-year-old Cam is finishing up an exam in his school's portable classroom when the power suddenly fails because of a distant storm and school closes early. Cam assumes he won't need to pick up his little brother, Peter, from the bus stop for another three hours, so he goes with his girlfriend, Ava, buddy Adam, and another classmate to get burgers. Cam has the perfect girlfriend, Adam's mom's perfect BMW convertible, and a perfect summer job lined up at the marina. But then a powerful tornado tears through the area, destroying homes and tossing cars from the highway. Cam, badly injured, is suddenly faced with tracking down missing Peter amid a spiraling disaster. To compound matters, the chaotic situation has exposed secrets and fault lines within his own family, as well as unspoken resentments between them and the families of his friends. Details of the crash and the mayhem in the community following the storm are at times detailed and blunt, appropriate to the narrative and audience, but possibly troubling to sensitive readers. The writing occasionally veers into clich� and unsubtle metaphor, though that doesn't detract from the book. Jennings notes in the acknowledgments that some details of the story are drawn from news accounts of a tornado that struck Barrie, Ontario, near Toronto, in 1985. Main characters' appearances aren't described. VERDICT Whether for hooking reluctant readers or offering a quick, gripping tale for independent reading, this entry in the high-interest "Orca Soundings" series is a thrilling romp.-Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson M.S., Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2020
After school unexpectedly lets out early due to a power outage, 16-year-old Cam heads to a burger place with his friends. He knows he has to be back in time to meet his 6-year-old brother, Peter, off the bus, never expecting that a powerful tornado will touch down, making that impossible. The tornado flips the car he's in, killing outright two of his pals and leaving the third, Chrissy, seriously injured. Stunned and hurt himself, Cam is taken back to town by a truck driver, abandoning Chrissy to try to find his brother. Learning that the bus dropped him off before the tornado struck, Cam stops at his nearly destroyed home, where he lies to his parents about where he's been. After he's caught in the lie, his furious dad lashes out angrily while his alcoholic mother seems unable to understand the full situation. Struggling with guilt, grief, and rejection, Cam desperately searches for Peter and then has to protect him from vicious looters. The story wraps up quickly, providing a perhaps improbable feel-good ending. Presented in simple text with ample white space, this fast-paced, suspenseful tale is perfect for reluctant readers. Although exposition is necessarily limited, Cam's angst over leaving Chrissy behind and missing his brother is heartfelt and fully believable. Main characters seem to be White by default; diversity in secondary characters is cued by surname. Full of action and brief enough to entice even the most unwilling readers. (Fiction. 12-18)

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