Into the Wind

March 15, 2019
Fourteen-year-old Helicity, survivor of both a tornado and a flash flood in her eponymous first outing (2018), is back for more encounters with stormy weather.This time, she's spending summer vacation at a bed-and-breakfast on the Gulf of Mexico, but not before a frighteningly turbulent flight from her home in Michigan. Unexpectedly, Helicity's crush, fellow weather fan Sam, arrives with her brother, Andy, who has secretly become addicted to pain killers after his serious injuries during the tornado. Now Andy is hanging around with a sketchy dude, and they may be responsible for a series of break-ins. Meanwhile, Helicity falls for hunky Trey, then endures a sequence of strong thunderstorms with him--and Sam. Naturally, a major hurricane is also on the way. In an effort to locate missing Andy, Helicity ultimately finds shelter in an abandoned lighthouse as the hurricane barrels ashore. Dealing with her conflicted romantic feelings--Sam or Trey?--she moves from one weather-related cliffhanger to another as Zee sometimes interrupts the action to offer brief explanations of these weather events. These are too little to satisfy those who might choose this effort for an immersive meteorology experience rather than hackneyed melodrama. The cast of predictable characters are nearly all white except, perhaps, Trey, who has a Spanish surname.Even with its flaws, this effort slightly outpaces the first, edging marginally closer to believability. (Adventure. 10-14)

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April 15, 2019
Grades 4-7 Reeling from the tornado and flash flood that left her home destroyed and her mentor, Lana, in a coma, Helicity heads to Texas for the summer and is shocked when her brother, Andy, shows up with her crush, Sam, in tow. The gang, with new friend Trey, decide to go sailing and get caught in a derecho?an army of thunderstorms?which leaves the boys injured. This is just a precursor to the tropical storm threatening the coast. To top this, Helicity discovers Andy is addicted to painkillers. When she confronts him, he runs?right as the storm turns into a category-3 hurricane. Thinking Andy is hiding out at an abandoned lighthouse, Helicity runs straight into danger again to save her brother. There had better be a third book in this educationally entertaining series as Zee leaves Helicity stuck in the lighthouse alone in the eye of the hurricane, calm and ready for round two. Readers will be engaged by Helicity's continued adventures, though some might be turned off by the unnecessary love triangle involving just-turned-14 Helicity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)