Tornado Brain

April 1, 2020
For tornado-focused seventh grader Frankie, "Manners seem like wrapping words in cotton balls." She's known since fourth grade that she isn't like other kids. Frankie's bothered by scratchy clothes, being touched, socializing, change, being different from her twin, Tess, but probably most of all by the end of her only friendship--with Colette, whom she's known since kindergarten. Now Colette has disappeared, and it seems that Frankie was the last person who saw her, but their final contact wasn't a positive one. Colette had turned up unexpectedly and wanted the special notebook that she, Tess, and Frankie had used to document their yearslong game, "dare-or-scare." The police are dismissive of Frankie's realization that after Colette went missing, she posted videos of new "dares." Frankie uses the clues in the videos to launch a search. Tess assists, in the process helping to heal their battered sisterly relationship. Frankie's first-person narration is spot-on as she describes her feelings about her attention-deficit and sensory-processing disorders and her Asperger's syndrome as well as her distaste for the medications that impair her thinking. Her confusion with her own unexpected emotions as she falls for skateboarder Kai--who's just as smitten with her--is poignant. Although all doesn't end well, this moving account of Frankie's emerging maturity--with extra challenges--is perfect. Colette, Frankie, and Frankie's family seem to be white; it's suggested that Kai is a boy of color. An intriguing mystery embedded within a richly insightful coming-of-age story. (author's note) (Fiction. 10-13)

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April 3, 2020

Gr 6 Up-In this heartfelt coming-of-age mystery, Frankie is a 13-year-old twin from a sleepy, Washington state beach town who has one friend. Or rather, had one friend. Now Colette only wants to be friends with Frankie's sister, Tess. Tess is nice and sociable; Frankie is neurodiverse and struggles to read people. She works hard to moderate her behavior without taking medication, but noises are distracting, emotions are confusing, and even the sensation of clothes can easily irritate her. To Frankie, her brain twists and skips around like a tornado, so she loves learning about them. Tornado Alley is her favorite TV show, and the text is full of facts about tornadoes. Frankie has her routine and she is comfortable with it but then, just before the end of seventh grade, Frankie's world is shaken when Colette goes missing. Despite their falling out, Frankie is determined to extricate the truth from the clues left behind. The writing style in this novel is a bit jarring. It successfully mimics the way Frankie's brain works. The narration feels disjointed and jumps around in order to express the turmoil of Frankie's mind. While it helps the reader understand her, it can be challenging to read. Between this and the length, this is not a book for reluctant readers, which is unfortunate because the appeal is there. The characters are a strength in this story. Being a twin means that, even though Frankie is telling the story, there are two unique points of view presented: her own and Tess's. The different ways in which people can experience anger, hope, fear, and loss are beautifully explored. VERDICT This is an important book for readers and it will be a good general purchase for most libraries serving a middle grade population.-Claire Covington, Broadway High School, VA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2020
Grades 6-9 *Starred Review* Thirteen-year-old Frankie (don't call her Frances) is three-times challenged: she has attention deficit disorder, Asperger's syndrome, and sensory processing disorder. She also has just one friend, Colette, whom she met in kindergarten during a tornado. But now, these seven years later, she and Colette have had a falling out, leaving Frankie friendless; well, except for her twin sister, Tess, but she doesn't count. On top of losing this friendship, Frankie has literally lost Colette, who has seemingly vanished. Colette left behind three brief videos that Frankie thinks are clues?only they were posted two years earlier. Or were they? Clearly everything is changing, and an uneasy Frankie declares, Change is my enemy. But, as she continues to search for clues to her former friend's absence, she begins to gradually transform, herself. Will she, in the process, find Colette and, perhaps, a new friend in Kai, a sweetheart of a boy in her class? Patrick handles this material beautifully, and she has done a remarkable job of creating an unforgettable character in Frankie, who tells the story in her own idiosyncratic first-person voice, which takes readers inside her head as she struggles with her many challenges. The result is a tour de force that readers will remember long after they have finished the book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)