STORMED

by Sally Valentine

Mrs. Levine and the STARfish find themselves in trouble again. It's the last day of August, and the kids of Rochester are bored. "Nothing ever happens in Rochester," complains Derrick, who will soon change his mind when an unexpected storm blows into town creating a whirlwind of trouble and activity. Reinaldo and his family, who are caught at the Rochester Public Market, are forced to take refuge at the home of the class bully. Mrs. Levine and Steven are stranded underwater at the parking garage of the Rundel Library. But lightning strikes the worst at the Seneca Park Zoo, where an old oak tree falls, trapping a zookeeper and scattering the penguins. Rescue comes from an unexpected source.

177 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2015

About the author

Sally Valentine is a native Rochesterian, who has been both a student and a teacher in the Rochester City School District. She was inspired to write The Ghost of the Charlotte Lighthouse after reading a series of mystery novels by Margaret Truman Daniels that are each set in a different historic site in Washington D.C. She wants the children of Rochester to have a series of books like that to help them appreciate their hometown. The next books in the series are Theft at George Eastman House, What Stinks? An Adventure in Highland Park, Lost at Seabreeze, and most recently,STORMED. She has also published an award winning poetry book, There Are No Buffalo In Buffalo. Each poem in the collection is about a different place in New York State.

Reviews

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would definitely recommend this book. Yes, the author did a lot of "name dropping" in the book, but some of that is what was actually happening in the city the story was set in, such as the mayor of the city and actual business owners. Valentine also addresses bullying, teens driving, teens working while going to school, single parent families, and 2 parent family situations. The several sites used as part of the setting each had different characters. Valentine tied the stories together well by the end.

I met the author at a local community center. She is from my hometown, and teaches in the city school district. When speaking with her, she said that despite the history of Rochester, NY, there were few middle grade books set in the city and the area for kids to get an interest of what we have in Rochester. I think she found a way to fill this gap. I am definitely interested to see what she has done with other historical sites and stories of Rochester.