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Summary
Summary
In this companion to Tornado Brain , a moving tale of loss and healing comes full circle.
Tess has always understood her role in her family. She is supposed to be the "okay" one. The one no one has to worry about. But all Tess does is worry, constantly picking at her fingers every time a new worry arises. Still grieving her best friend's death, she is consumed by the fear that everything was her fault and her sadness that Colette is never coming back. Worse still, it seems like everyone else has found a way to move on, even her twin sister Frankie. When her mom decides a change of location might do her good, Tess finds herself on an airplane bound for her aunt's house in small town Wyoming and a summer vacation attending art camp.
Tess thinks she might never be able to move on from losing Colette but her quirky but determined cousin Kennedy and new friend Izzy are determined to help. When Tess becomes convinced that Colette's ghost might be haunting her, Kennedy and Izzy find new ways for Tess to make peace with the past and finally let go of the grief that has been haunting her heart.
Author Notes
Cat Patrick is the author of Tornado Brain , a critically acclaimed Summer 2020 Kids' Indie Next List selection, and several books for young adults, including Forgotten , Revived , and The Originals .
Cat lives outside of Seattle with her family but was born and raised in Wyoming. You can find her online at catpatrick.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4 Up--Patrick's sequel to Tornado Brain, an intimate look into the world of a neurodivergent teen, shifts the focus to Frankie's sister Tess, who is struggling with anxiety after the death of her best friend. Attending art camp in Wyoming just a few months after the tragic event, Tess battles "Mean Me," the voice that tells her that she cannot do enough or be enough, and focuses her attention on her hands; she constantly tears and bites at her nails and cuticles. She can no longer draw, a skill that used to give her comfort. Tess finds herself shuffled between various groups of people trying to help. Her cousins and aunt and uncle delicately try to help her process her grief, and the townie art club kids welcome her with ease and understanding; both entities wind up giving her back a piece of herself that she thought was lost. Patrick provides a unique look into the world of a grief-stricken kid trying to stay above water. She intertwines mystery, realistic fiction, romance, and social-emotional issues with aplomb, creating a lovely and therapeutic story. Readers may recognize and sympathize feelings of standing in someone's shadow and feeling lost, unable to ask for help. Tess is cued as white. VERDICT A suggested purchase for upper elementary and middle school libraries. Educators may want to use the book for group reads centered on coping with grief, trauma, and anxiety. Patrick weaves an authentic tale of a young girl with a sensitive heart who endures life's hardships.--Rachel Joiner, Advent Episcopal Sch., Bessemer, AL
Horn Book Review
Tessa, thirteen, is spending the summer in a small town in Wyoming, staying with her aunt, uncle, and cousins and going to art camp. Right from the get-go she is thrown into an eerie situation in which elements from a campfire ghost story she once invented to amuse her friend Colette seem to be playing out in the real world. The mystery and tragedy of Colette's recent death in an accident; Tessa's struggles with anxiety; middle-grade staples such as the mean girl and the sullen, more sophisticated cousin; and the sheer shivery fun of an urban legend commingle in a highly readable, convincing, and gripping narrative. This is a companion volume to Tornado Brain (rev. 9/20), a novel told from the point of view of Tessa's twin sister, Frankie (who reappears here). Together the tales create a rich stereo effect as we combine Frankie's take on the world -- that of a young woman on the autism spectrum -- with Tessa's somewhat more typical but still particular and detailed perspective. However, the story also works effectively as a standalone narrative, as author Patrick is adept at neatly filling in backstory. Crisp dialogue, subtle characterization, a sprinkling of romance, liberal handfuls of humor, and clever mystery plotting add up to a very satisfying read. Sarah Ellis September/October 2021 p.102(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Tess, whose BFF, Colette, died accidentally in Tornado Brain (2020), is severely afflicted with grief and guilt. The 13-year-old has returned with her cousins' family to a cabin in Wyoming where she, her twin sister, and Colette spent an idyllic summer the previous year. But with her friend gone just two and a half months, her pain is palpable. Complicating matters is the fact that her loving mother provides far more attention to Tess' twin, Frankie, who is on the autism spectrum. Tess, a talented artist, has enrolled in a summer art camp where she is befriended by a boy called Izzy. At first he has no idea what's causing her intense suffering, but he's both supportive and kind. That's far less true of fellow camper Jackie, who's had a crush on Izzy for years and will do anything to undermine Tess. The mostly White cast is richly depicted, but it's Tess' believable, disabling grief that is the focus: Convinced that an angry and accusing Colette may be haunting her, Tess' thoughts are constantly interrupted by a cruel inner voice, and she responds by biting her fingernails and cuticles, leaving her fingers raw and bleeding. With help from her supportive aunt, Izzy, and even imperturbable Frankie, by summer's end Tess makes tentative steps toward healing, progress that readers will welcome. An engaging tale of grief and the power of friendship. (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Tess' best friend, Collete, has died in an accident, and Tess--twin sister of Frankie, the protagonist of Tornado Brain (2020)--is beyond bereft. Though devastated, she has gone with her family to their cabin in Wyoming for vacation. There she is enrolled in art camp, where she meets a cute boy named Izzy; it's an instant crush for both of them. Meanwhile, strange things begin happening to Tess. She develops a preternatural fear of an animal-crossing overpass on the road to their cabin; she attracts a stalker, an elderly man who wears a yellow scarf just like the man in a ghost story Tess had told Colette; and, well, there's more. Tess wonders, is Colette haunting her? At the same time, she keeps hearing a vicious, intimidating voice in her head that is always putting her down. Patrick's cleverly plotted tale is a mash-up of mystery and summer romance that makes for an agreeable companion to Tornado Brain, and it can also be read and enjoyed independently.