Into the Hurricane by Neil Connelly - ADVISABLE

Connelly, Neil Into the Hurricane, 242 pages.  Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic), 2017.  $18.  Language: R (50 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13 (vicious hit, eaten by alligator)

Hurricane Celeste is about to roar into Eli’s small island home and everyone has been ordered to evacuate.  But Eli has something to do; his guilt over his older sister’s death has been dragging on him to the point he may just give into the dangerous thoughts that have been plaguing him.  Max (don’t call her Maxine if you want to keep her teeth) has stolen her father’s ashes out from under her stepmother’s nose and has driven hundreds of miles to fulfill one last promise.  But between Eli’s questions and the machinations of the Odenkirk’s, the island’s backwoods religious nuts clan, the pair have something more vicious working against them than any hurricane.  By the time the storm lifts, there may not be anything left standing on the island – buildings or humans.

Connelly’s novel is a white knuckle ride that mimics the ebb and flow of a major storm.  There is a bit of the supernatural in the story.  There is also plenty of action, danger, and opposition.  It was easy to forgive the parts that stretched the imagination, because the storm and the danger were so intense.  Connelly even manages to sneak some actual emotional growth into both main characters.

HS – ADVISABLE, MS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher