Tornado Brain

by Cat Patrick

In this heartfelt and powerfully affecting coming of age story, a neurodivergent 7th grader is determined to find her missing best friend before it's too late. Now in paperback.

Things never seem to go as easily for thirteen-year-old Frankie as they do for her sister, Tess. Unlike Tess, Frankie is neurodivergent. In her case, that means she can't stand to be touched, loud noises bother her, she's easily distracted, she hates changes in her routine, and she has to go see a therapist while other kids get to hang out at the beach. It also means Frankie has trouble making friends. She did have one--Colette--but they're not friends anymore. It's complicated.

Then, just weeks before the end of seventh grade, Colette unexpectedly shows up at Frankie's door. The next morning, Colette vanishes. Now, after losing Colette yet again, Frankie's convinced that her former best friend left clues behind that only she can decipher, so she persuades her reluctant sister to help her unravel the mystery of Colette's disappearance before it's too late.

A powerful story of friendship, sisters, and forgiveness, Tornado Brain is an achingly honest portrait of a young girl trying to find space to be herself. Inspired by her own neurodiverse child, Cat Patrick writes with authenticity and sincerity in her depiction of Frankie in what is ultimately a love letter to neurodiverse children everywhere.

Genres: Middle Grade, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Mental Health, Audiobook, Autistic Spectrum Disorder

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2020

About the author

Cat Patrick is the author of middle grade books Tornado Brain and Paper Heart, as well as young adult books Forgotten, Revived, The Originals, and, with Suzanne Young, Just Like Fate.

Find her online at www.catpatrick.com.

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won via goodreads giveaways, all my opinions are my 0wn:)
---

Headache still so this will be a short review.

A couple things I thought should have been explored more but overall this was an enjoyable read.

The ending felt a bit out of place though with what happened previous in the story, had me scratching my head a bit.

It did keep my attention, I was fully immersed in the story.. just wish I had loved it more.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in the midwest = tornado awareness. As a little girl I remember my father showing me a tornado that was lurking up in the sky just miles from our farm. So, I found this pairing of tornado facts/myths with Frankie's neurodivergent condition to be a fascinating premise. On top of that Frankie is a fraternal twin as I am. Many factors connected me to this book, but Cat Patrick's writing made the book amazing. The story is told from Frankie's perspective. We spend about a week plus the epilogue seeing the world through her eyes. Her friend Collette is missing, so there is a mystery to solve. It is difficult to be insider her head at times. You want to tell her not say what she is thinking, to keep her voice down, to be nicer to her mother, not to throw that rock. . .Reading this new middle grade novel will help build empathy for the kids who struggle and validation for the strugglers. It could potentially be a read aloud in the classroom paired with a weather unit. I am calling it now -- this could be a contender for the Newbery in 2021.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam and Edelweiss for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Life is more difficult when you don't like to be touched, get easily distracted, and have difficulty containing your emotions. It's especially difficult to make friends. Frankie used to be friends with her perfect twin sister Tess and her best friend since forever Colette. But things are different now. After Colette goes missing, Frankie and Tess band together to find her and in the process they'll maybe just understand each other a little bit better.

It took a little while to get into Frankie's perspective but once I did and Colette was deemed missing, the story took off. I couldn't get enough of the fast paced nature of this mystery. I flew through the pages. Meanwhile, I got to know a completely different outlook on life with the struggles Frankie faced daily. She tried so hard to control her emotions like she was taught to but it's difficult for her to not want to scream when she doesn't feel heard. As a main character, Frankie was fascinating. Her POV vs. her parents, sister's, and other around her made me empathetic towards her. How frustrating it must be to try to do better and no one seems to notice. There was a lot of good moments and discussions around being neurodiverse. I especially liked seeing her interactions with her mother and seeing her parenting style with a neurodiverse daughter. The drama and friendship aspect were really well done. I thought it captured the complexities of having friends as a teenager and let's be honest, in life. I enjoyed the facts and myths about tornadoes in the beginning of each chapter. It truly makes me want to read books on tornadoes now.

Tornado Brain had many great things going for it but it missed so many opportunities. I know the main purpose of this book was to get an understanding of Frankie rather than see her grow but it was something that could have been examined to a wider degree. I felt like Colette and her sister were trying so hard to be kind and considerate of Frankie's feelings but she didn't reciprocate. I know by the end of the story, she was sorry for the way she acted but I don't know if she showed it enough for me as a reader. There was also a heartbreaking moment where her mother tells her "Please remember to be kind." and Frankie asks in her head, "Do you think I'm a mean person?" Why was that not explored later on in the story? Frankie obviously needed to have a heart to heart with her mother, but where was it? Lastly, my main criticism of this story is - are you kidding me with that ending? I was getting emotional towards of the end of the story, but then that completely stopped because of how everything was resolved. I don't feel like Frankie even seemed to care because when asked how her summer she responded that it was mostly good. Excuse me? How could it be? I love emotional stories so for me to not like that ridiculous conclusion is saying something. I'm disappointed because I was genuinely enjoying this book.

Tornado Brain creates great discussion around the perspective of a neurodiverse character in a fast paced mystery but ultimately misses opportunities and has a disappointing conclusion.

Thanks to Penguin Group (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers) and NetGalley for letting me read Tornado Brain in exchange for an honest review!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book! It focuses on a neurodiverse child and gives insights into how these children think. Having neurodiverse children, and being neurodiverse myself, I felt this book was very insightful, and can be helpful to neurotypical people in understanding a different way of thinking!!

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t let that cutesy cover fool you, there’s more than meets the eye in this hard-hitting story. Tess and Frankie are fraternal twins, but Frankie will openly share that she has certain needs that Tess does not. For example, Frankie doesn’t ever like to be touched, loud noises bother her, and she needs a very reliable routine. Frankie is also well aware of the fact that she has trouble making friends. That’s why she’s so bothered by the fact that Colette is no longer her friend. And why is that? Ooof. This story has a slowly unfolding mystery that kept me glued to the narration! With such young characters, this story was far deeper than I anticipated. I especially liked that it is told from a neurodiverse character’s perspective. It’s so important to have books like this in the world to serve as both a mirror and window for readers. My thanks to Libro.fm for providing me the audiobook of Tornado Brain.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[Alondra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would recommend this if you like a slow pace mystery. But it's really not my thing. It's a good book with details that help you create an image though.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es ist wirklich an der Zeit für mehr Figuren wie Frankie!

Frankie ist die lustige, aufgeweckte Hauptperson, von der "Tornado im Kopf" erzählt. Sie ist ein 13 jähriges Mädchen mit Autismus, die sich mit ihrer Freundschaftsgruppe bestehend aus ihrer Zwillingsschwester Tess und Collette zerstritten hat. Als Collette plötzlich vermisst wird, will Frankie das Rätsel ihres Verschwindens lösen.

Die Geschichte hat mich wirklich berührt, zu viel möchte ich nicht verraten aber ich finde es schön, wie hier über Freundschaft geschrieben wird. Die Figuren sind allesamt liebenswert und gerade durch ihre Fehler und Probleme menschlich und mehrdimensional. Die Handlung hat mich zwar sehr an "The curious incident of the dog in the night time" erinnert und eigentlich wird hier nur der typische Krimi wiederholt, aber Patrick gelingt es, die Krimi-Elemente neu und interessant anzuordnen.
Gelungen fand ich auch, dass die Stärken von Frankie herausgearbeitet werden und sie ihre Symptome nicht "überwinden" muss, um geliebt zu werden (wie es sonst leider sehr oft beschrieben wird).

[rue mortensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“sometimes i don’t notice things at all and sometimes i notice things too much.”

rtc.

[Lorelai Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good! It gave me all the feels. I really thought that Frankie’s POV was well-written, intriguing, and also cool that it was from a neurodivergent character’s perspective, which I haven’t read many books of.


If I could, I would give this book only ⭐️4.5 stars⭐️ and here’s my three reasons why:

- I thought that even though the plot didn’t necessarily jump around, it was a bit hard to follow at a few parts. That might just be because I listened to the audiobook version, or maybe because the author tried to cram a bunch of things into each day.
- I thought that there were a few unrealistic parts, specifically the movie theater part. I am about the same age as Frankie and Tess are, but I’m almost positive no parents would let their kids go out all alone at night, not be home till 11 or after, and especially if their best friend is missing! I get that the author tried to say things like the mom was cautious about letting them go out since Colette was missing, but still. You might disagree, but that’s just what I thought.
- My last thing I didn’t like about the book was that the ending could’ve been fixed up a little better. I felt like there were some loose strings, and then the author kinda resolved the ending in a not-great way. I still thought that it was a good (and sad) ending, just that it could’ve been better.


But I did really like the book!! I would recommend it for people who like mysteries that are dramatic and intense but are also tear jerking.

I hope you’ll read this book if you haven’t before, and that you’ll like it as much as I did! Thanks for taking the time to read my review! 😊

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If a tornado was in middle school, it might get a lot of weird looks.”
🌪
Francis (call me Frankie) struggles with friends. Things don’t come easily to her like they do for her twin sister, Tess. Frankie is neurodivergent, ADHD, she’s on the autism spectrum and has sensory process issues. This makes it hard for Frankie to make and keep friends, but when the only friend she’s ever had goes missing, Frankie makes it her mission to find Colette, even though they haven’t been friends for a few months and had an argument the night she went missing. But time is running out as Frankie and Tess rush to put the clues together and find Colette before it’s too late.
🌪
Don’t let this adorable cover fool you: this MG book has so much depth, heart and importance to it. We don’t get enough books about neurodivergent students so I really appreciated the representation this novel has with Frankie. This will work great as a read aloud and promote understanding and empathy. There is a sequel to this book with Tess’s sister called Paper Heart that just released.

CW: disappearance of a child, death

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the coastal community of Long Beach, Washington, 7th grader Frankie is neurodiverse. She doesn't like touch, or loud sounds, and often says what's on her mind even though she may get in trouble. After a falling out with her twin sister Tess and best friend Collette, Frankie's world becomes even more difficult. Soon afterwards, the town discovers that Collette is missing and Frankie may be the only one to figure out what has happened to her. This is a wonderful, sad, and yet very heartwarming story of friendship, sisterhood, daily challenges, and how the rest of us may need to be a bit more empathetic.

[Laura Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tornado Brain by @authorcatpatrick is STUNNING with a neurodivergent MC who is obsessed with tornados (and sometimes feels like one herself). Frankie's big emotions and sensory processing difficulties make friendship hard, but she did have two best friends once -- her twin sister and Colette. Now Colette has gone missing and the twins are the only ones who might know where she's gone. As someone who knows and loves someone who is neurodivergent, this felt spot-on and led to great conversations in my house. I'm going to be recommending this one like crazy from now on. Grades 4+

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, WOW! This was an excellent middle grade mystery story featuring a neuro-divergent main character. The writing style puts you in the main characters brain and really displays the challenges of living with neurological differences. Highly recommend!

[Rachel007 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this. I just...didn't. The writing was very good and the story kept me engaged, but I felt Frankie lacked...something?

[nobody · Rating 4 out of 5]

من کتاب‌های نوجوان زیادی درباره‌ی بچه‌هایی با طیفی از اوتیسم خوندم. خیلی خیلی زیاد. و این کتاب هم کلیت داستان و اکثر چیزهاش برام تکراری بود. اوایل کتاب خیلی برام سخت بود که ادامه بدم، چون همه‌ش حس می‌کردم قرار نیست چیز جدیدی برای تعریف کردن داشته باشه.
ولی همین که پیش رفتیم دیدم فرانکی خاصه‌؛ پس داستانش هم برام خاص شد. من معمولا به کتاب‌ها بر اساس احساساتم نسبت بهشون امتیاز می‌دم‌. چندجای این کتاب (و صد البته پایانش هم) بدجوری قلبم رو شکست. بخاطر همین اوایل برام یه کتاب سه ستاره بود، ولی بعد از خوندن آخرین جمله و حتی بعد از خوندن تشکر نویسنده، برام چهار ستاره شد. چون درنهایت قصه‌ی همه‌ی ما آدم‌ها کم‌و‌بیش مثل همه، ولی اینکه کسی بتونه یه قصه‌ی تقریبا معمولی و تکراری رو خوب تعریف کنه و باعث بشه قلبت فشرده بشه، از نظر من هنره.

پ.ن: توی ریویوها خوندم که می‌گفتن از نظرشون آخر کتاب، فرانکی از شخصیتش خارج شد چون گفت "تابستونش خوب گذشته" در صورتی که چطور ممکنه خوب گذشته باشه. به‌نظرم همین حرفش فرانکی‌ترین جمله‌ی کل کتابه. چون فرانکی اهمیت می‌ده و عزاداری می‌کنه، ولی به شیوه‌ی خودش. و هیچ‌جای کتاب، حتی وقتی هیچ‌چیز سر جای خودش نبود، فرانکی یک بار هم نگفت که حالش خوب نیست.
پ.ن۲: از نشر پرتقال و با اسم "گردبادهای مغز من" خوندمش.
پ.ن۳: جلد کتاب رو دوست داشتم. فونتی که براش طراحی شده بود، رنگ‌هاش و همه‌چیزش رو.

[Kathy (Bermudaonion) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Thirteen year old Frankie wishes she were “normal” like her twin sister Tess but having Asperger’s means she doesn’t like changes or being touched and has no filter when it’s time to speak. After seeing a tornado when she was five, Frankie has been obsessed with them. Frankie overhears her best friend, Colette, call her a “tornado brain” so she’s been avoiding her. When Colette goes missing, Frankie becomes consumed with finding her.

TORNADO BRAIN is such a great middle grade book. The mystery provides enough tension to keep readers invested as it touches on themes of friendship, inclusivity, family, and acceptance. I loved Frankie and her family and think many young readers will relate to her. The story is told from her point of view and it’s full of emotion. Jorjeana Marie does a fantastic job of bringing her to life in the audio version of the book.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[Jessie Gaupel · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh :(

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book. Once I started reading it, I had trouble putting it down. It is the story of a couple of twin middle school sisters who have a missing friend. The book is written from the perspective of the sister who is neurodiverse. She thinks she knows what the friend was doing and where she might be but she has trouble vocalizing her thoughts. The author does a great job of putting you inside her head. The story does deal with some heavy situations and I'd encourage parents to read this book if their kid picks it up.

[Mattie-Bretton Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A middle grade realistic mystery fiction novel starring a neurodivergent teen who struggles with knowing her unique way of thinking and experiencing the world has much value.
As someone who identifies with the main character, I'm so grateful for this story, and more books with neurodivergent characters that reflect realistically what life is like from our perspectives, and in that, hopefully helps readers gain empathy and sends the message that we're all unique and beautiful and have much to contribute to this world.

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was really good. It's one of the only books I've ever read that directly deals with a death of a friend/loved one Would definitely recommend. The beginning is a little slow, but once you get past that it's really good.


Conclusion:
Good book!

[Jenna D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call it premature, but Tornado Brain is guaranteed to be my favorite pick of 2020. This middle grade book about neuro-diverse Frankie in the aftermath of her ex-best friend’s disappearance is one of the most well-written fiction stories I have ever read about a differently minded character. The mystery is smart, the relationships and interactions are believable, and the research for this book is palpable. I have not read a more emotionally impactful book in years. On a personal note: As someone whose spouse has suffered from a severe brain injury to his frontal lobe, I thank you, Cat, for getting it right.

[Theresa Grissom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Ok, let me go throw away the box of tissues I went through and I'll be back to write my review... So, I loved this story. It gives insight into the minds of neurodivergent people. I happen to know several (none very well) and this book helps me to understand their personalities a lot more. Loved all the characters in this story and the friendships, especially between the sisters. To me this book is on the border between middle grade and young adult and I will have it in my elementary library and recommend to the 5th graders. 4.5 stars for this one.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book when I wasn’t quite ready, but I came back to it and I’m so glad I did. The mystery of the plot, the true nature of friendship in early adolescence, and in particular the honest and positive portrayal of someone on the spectrum come together in a way that is a perfect addition to any middle grade collection.

[Chelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was great for my kids. One of my children has a few of the same diagnoses as Frankie does and it was really great to see him represented in a book. I haven't come across a middle grade book with Sensory Processing Disorder before and I am so glad this is out there. This is a solid book on neurodiversity.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this realistic fiction book who follows seventh graders Frankie and her twin sister Tess. Both sisters were friends with Collette who has gone missing and both girls saw her the night before her disappearance. The twins are polar opposites with Tess being outgoing and Frankie more reserved with a sensory disorder. Can the twins help find their friend before it is too late?

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has a great premise. I was excited to read a book about an autistic student. This had a mystery in the story as well. I really liked the character Frankie and the author did a great job at building her character. However, the story seemed to drag in parts, especially when the story went back in time. I felt I wasn't really caring about the relationships in the past.

[Jan Raspen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every single thing about this book.

[Lokum Çocuk Kutuphanesi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Son yıllarda okuduğum en iyi gençlik kitabı.

[Gwyneth W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

(If you're the type of person who reads reviews for heads' up about content, feel free to skip to the end of this, because that's where I stash them. ^-^)

Wow. Where was this book when I was in middle school? I'm jealous. xD

But honestly, as someone who is diagnosed with Asperger's, this is the first book with autism representation that I've read that I actually want to hand to a family member and say – "This. This is what my experience is like." And I know a lot of the autism community bashes on stories that are written by people who aren't neurodivergent, but I'd say this book is proof that if you care enough about a topic and are willing to put in the work to make sure it comes across accurately, it's worth doing. So don't stop writing about something just because you're not necessarily experiencing that topic yourself. *gets off soapbox* To be entirely fair, I didn't relate to everything Frankie experienced, but honestly that's because we have different personalities, interests, and are in different stages of life. I think I would've personally related to her more in middle school, but that makes sense – I'd hope as a college-aged student I'd have learned from my experiences and be more mature than a twelve/thirteen-year-old.

I've noticed that a lot of autism rep books take the route of 'the story is about autism, so let's have the plot about autism' and Tornado Brain doesn't follow that path. Instead, we get a fun, slow-paced mystery about a missing person's case and sisters learning to overcome their differences in order to save their best friend. Great premise, loved it. I will say at times that the mystery itself seemed to drag on a bit and the police seemed less thorough then they'd be in real life (someone would've looked through the videos, just saying. they may not necessarily believe Frankie, but I would think that through protocol, any potential for something to matter to the case should be gone through and investigated), and that's the main reason I only gave it four stars.
I see in other reviews that people complained about the ending... I honestly didn't mind it. Maybe it's because of personal experience, but I thought Frankie visiting the hospital and telling Colette what she really thought and forgiving her was enough to be hopeful, even though it ends after the funeral. I personally thought that angle on the ending was very similar to The Thing About Jellyfish except Tornado Brain does it in a way I like? More hopeful? I don't know, that's probably just my opinion talking. It worked for me. (And I really appreciated the perspective on Asperger's and grief, because it can look like we don't care. And sometimes we sum things up – like Frankie's summer - as good because good things did happen, but that doesn't mean that bad things didn't happen and that is something for parents/caregivers to look out for.)

I will say that this book does struggle with telling instead of showing sometimes and I think that contributed to the slowness? I know that since we're in Frankie's POV a lot of her thoughts are more tell-y (and that's accurate, at least in my experience XD) but I think there's also a point where we needed to see some things instead of having Frankie's thoughts spell them out. But that's just my opinion.

Anyway, 4/5 stars. Would recommend. Definitely something I will be using as a resource to explain how my brain functions in the future. Definitely giving the author a round of applause and my gratitude. If you've read The Thing About Jellyfish, I think you will like this book, because it is quite similar – and if you didn't like The Thing About Jellyfish (like me), then you will still probably like this book. You won't know until you try. :)

Aaaand if you skipped to the bottom for the content labels, here they are!
Content: insinuated past abuse (mention), bullying (scenes), mental illness (discussion of clinical depression/speculating if someone committed suicide, specifically), brief discussion of kidnapping/human trafficking, grief (losing a loved one), talk about kissing (watching a couple on a date be physically romantic past normal Hallmark movie kiss/hand hold)