Severe and Unusual Weather

While her mother attends rehabilitation for her drug dependency, 12-year-old Nadine goes to stay with her grandmother in Centralia, Ill., a small community best known as being devastated by the Great Tornado of the New Millennium, an F4 twister that occurred the year Nadine was born. She reluctantly befriends classmate Francis Pepper, whose mother’s death in the event led to frequent bullying surrounding his family history as well as a cruel nickname, Tornado Boy. Tasked with working together on a history project to commemorate the town’s bicentennial, Nadine and Francis choose to focus on the GTNM despite the egocentric mayor sponsoring the celebration’s inexplicably pressuring them to drop the subject. But as they investigate that tragic day, they uncover a bizarre secret about Centralia’s history, and their own seemingly destined friendship. Foley (Breda’s Island) elevates this quiet exploration of healing after trauma and finding one’s place to belong by gradually incorporating magical twists and sinister undertones. Each new variable is unveiled with a thoughtfulness that ensures the grounded themes surrounding grief and bullying remain the focus of this feel-good adventure. Main characters read as white. Ages 8–12. (May)