Tornado Brain

prologue

Myth: Tornadoes only move northeast.

People used to believe that tornadoes only move in one direction to the northeast but that s not true. Sometimes they go southwest. Sometimes they touch down and don t go anywhere, getting sucked right back up into the sky. That s disappointing. Sometimes they zig and sometimes they zag. Tornadoes are unpredictable.

If a tornado was in middle school, it might get a lot of weird looks from other kids. Its counselor might call its behavior unexpected. Its mom might try to get it to move in the same direction as the other tornadoes just to fit in. But maybe the tornado doesn t care about fitting in even if it means not having a lot of friends.

I can relate because I used to have one friend but now I don t. It s complicated.

I met her during a tornado.

It was the first week of kindergarten. My memories from back then are foggy because I was just a little kid and also my memory is weird, but here s how I think it went. Everyone was at recess and I was circling the outside of the play area alone, thinking of roller coasters because I was obsessed with them then, feeling my way along the chain link because I liked the way my fingers dropped into the spaces between the links and the way my hand smelled like metal afterward. Not a lot of people like that smell.

Sometimes I don t notice things at all and sometimes I notice things too much. That day, I noticed when the wind turbine at the far end of the playground stopped turning. I live in Long Beach, Washington, and it s known for being windy so windy that there s an international kite festival every August so when the turbine stopped, it was different. I notice things that are different. The creepy green-gray circular clouds behind the unmoving turbine were different, too. That s called a mesocyclone, which is a word I like.

Cat Patrick and her family live near Seattle but spend as much time as possible setting marshmallows on fire and tangling kites in Long Beach, Washington. There, Tornado Brain was born.

Cat is the author of several critically acclaimed books for young readers including Paper Heart, Forgotten, Revived, and The Originals.

You can find her online at catpatrick.com.

Praise for Tornado Brain:
A 2022-2023 Truman Readers Book Award Nominee (MO)
A 2021 Bank Street Best Children s Book of the Year
A 2021 Texas Lone Star Reading List Pick
A 2021 Washington State Book Award for Young Readers Finalist
A Summer 2020 Kids Indie Next List Pick
A Spring 2020 Apple Most Anticipated Book
A Junior Library Guild Pick

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. . . This moving account of Frankie s emerging maturity with extra challenges is perfect. . . An intriguing mystery embedded within a richly insightful coming-of-age story. Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Patrick...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.   Booklist, starred review
 
Much of this upper middle grade novel s success is thanks not just to Frankie s nuanced portrayal, but to all the characters, who are written to be both beautiful and flawed, doing the best that they can under difficult circumstances. Author Patrick is adept at developing a seamless blend of genres, and this title is at once a coming-of-age tale, a family drama, and a mystery. . . Elementary and middle school librarians should recommend this title to fans of Rain Reign, John Green, and anyone who might see themselves reflected in Frankie. School Library Connection, recommended review

Frankie s narration is solid and plausible, remaining credibly and