We Are Still Tornadoes

Scott and Cath, best friends since the age of five, are now separated by hundreds of miles while she is off at college in North Carolina and he remains in Maryland, working at his father’s clothing shop. The next year in their friendship, 1982 to 1983, unfolds as a series of letters. Playful banter, private jokes, dark family secrets, and major life changes are all explored in the intimate exchanges, with stationery headers subtly denoting shifts in location and circumstance. The effect is a bit like snooping through someone else’s mail as adult author Kun (Everybody Says Hello) and newcomer Mullen craft separate and authentic voices for their protagonists. There are a few hiccups when the format becomes an illogical plot device, as when it’s used to deliver news of a sudden death, despite the availability of telephones. But more often than not the correspondence allows for a deep understanding of Scott and Cath’s thoughts, feelings, and ruminations on the events changing their lives. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Steven Axelrod, Axelrod Agency. (Nov.) [/em]