The Tornado, approachable middle school fiction with self-discovery

 A story is only as good as its heel. Toss in that the heel is also a bully and it can take on primal feelings of disdain, guilt and shame. Not only are they not a good person, they’re actively picking on other people. It’s on. The Tornado is by author Jake Burt. Its tagline is “Only a force of nature can stop this bully”. This is middle school reading that’s more fun to read than that tagline infers. Ultimately, it’s about friendship, making mistakes and owning up to them.

I don’t want to recognize that bullies, in whatever fashion exist. However, they do and through one way or another they can alter our behavior. It may not always be active, physical threats. It might be the avoidance behaviors that you’ve adapted, even if they’re inconvenient to you, but you’re not seeing that person so it’s all good.

The later is what Bell Kirby has been doing. Ever since third grade he’s been picked on by Parker Hellickson (great heel last name BTW), the son of the principal and overall jerk of a guy. They’re in fifth-grade and everyone seems to know their role until Daelynn arrives as the new kid in school. She’s a breath of fresh air or a strange person with questionable fashion choices, depending on who you speak with.

It’s obvious that Bell and Daelynn could be great friends. They both have an appreciation for chinchillas, like science and are creative. However, to be nice, much less hang out with her means changing his routine. He’s spent months making a virtual mouse maze through school that avoids Parker when he’s near certain places. Sitting next to her, with her bright blue hair would also cause unwanted eyes on them.

Sure enough, Parker, like any good bully, sniffs out weakness and starts to antagonize her. Bell can take the easy way out and to an extent he does. This gives our erstwhile Johnny Lawrence the green light to antagonize her. With the spotlight suddenly off of Bell he’s able to loosen up and have fun. Ironically, through a miscommunication he becomes friendly with Parker and the two become civil, even friendly.

Bell warms up this at first and kind of enjoys it. He was happier being friends with Daelynn, but he also relishes not being the center of negative attention.

Burt scripts the happenings in a way that is believable and memorable. It happens in a way that upper elementary or middle school students could easily see happening; and one that parents will remember happening when they were in school.

There are ancillary factors that come into play like Bell’s dad not being at home because he’s stationed overseas, a spring festival and a parade. It all comes together in a book that’s more satisfying then young readers might expect. They might expect it to be all bully, all the time. Instead the book builds up the mythos of the bully by pointing out Bell’s insecurities. It’s not entirely Bell’s fault-the bully does exist, but there comes a time when something has to be done. It doesn’t end in a Karate Kid way. Instead, the book brings home the point that friendship, confidence and being yourself can be stronger than any bully anytime.

Ages 10 and up will enjoy The Tornado. Most of the chapters are around seven pages and the book has a varied emotional pace. There are some instances of personal turmoil, but nothing unfamiliar to middle school students. Young readers might not want to read a book that has a ‘bully’ in it. The Tornado is much more about middle school students discovering who they are-and how they want to be perceived.