Hurricane Season

A thoughtful portrayal of mental illness with queer content that avoids coming-out clichés. (Fiction. 9-12)

Copyright 2019 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission. 

Gr 5-7--Eleven-year-old Fig craves normalcy. But with a hurricane approaching, both literally and figuratively, Fig will have to navigate her way to calmer waters. She lives with her father, a once-renowned pianist, who now suffers from dramatic mood swings that make it impossible for him to work or for his daughter to connect with him. Although she is more comfortable in the science arena, Fig enrolls in an art class hoping it will shed some light on the way her brilliant but troubled father's mind works. Through the class, Fig meets three people who guide her to a deeper understanding of herself: a supportive art teacher, a boy who genuinely wants to be Fig's friend, and Hannah, a high school student on whom Fig develops a crush. It is Fig's introduction to the works of Vincent van Gogh, though, that inspires her to learn more about mental illness. She and her father also have the support of their new neighbor, Mark, who becomes a steady and calming presence in both of their lives. As a hurricane approaches their New Jersey beach community, Fig begins to rely on the support of friends--and her own newfound strength--to bring music back into their lives. VERDICT Fig's story will engage middle grade readers who enjoy thoughtful novels that address complex topics. It may even inspire them to seek out the works of van Gogh.--Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA

In coastal New Jersey, 11-year-old Fig and her father have been on their own since her mother abandoned them following Fig's birth. Fig's father, a once-successful pianist and composer with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, has good days and bad; when he interrupts the girl's class with a desperate plea to see her, her teacher grows concerned and calls child services. Afraid of being taken from her father and intensely private about his struggles, Fig must enlist the help of their new neighbor Mark when her dad wanders off in the middle of a hurricane--not for the first time. Hoping to better understand her father, STEM-inclined Fig starts a project about Vincent van Gogh and becomes drawn to similarities between her family and his. Mark's steadfast presence and growing relationship with her dad first infuriates Fig, then allows her to relinquish her fierce protection of her father; as hurricane season advances, she becomes less anxious and more comfortable in her life. Melleby's debut offers a tender, earnest portrait of a daughter searching for constancy while negotiating her father's sickness and the social challenges of tween girlhood, including her first crush on a girl. Ages 9-12. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (May)

A 2019 Skipping Stones Book Award Winner

"Melleby's debut offers a tender, earnest portrait of a daughter searching for constancy while negotiating her father's sickness and the social challenges of tween girlhood, including her first crush on a girl."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Father and daughter find their way back to each other in this moving novel, and readers will root for Fig every step of the way."
—Bookish

"Melleby doesn't shy away from how terrifying it is to watch someone in a dangerously manic state, but the narrative never tips into melodrama. A thoughtful portrayal of mental illness with queer content that avoids coming-out clichés."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Melleby deftly tackles weighty topics—mental illness, child protective services, single parenting, sexuality—while effortlessly weaving in elements of the life and works of Vincent van Gogh, creating a thoughtful, age-appropriate and impressive novel."
—Shelf Awareness, starred review

"Fig's story will engage middle grade readers who enjoy thoughtful novels that address complex topics. It may even inspire them to seek out the works of van Gogh."
—School Library Journal, starred review

"Debut author Nicole Melleby's novel is beautifully written, realistic, and thought-provoking."
—Literacy Daily

"Fig Arnold is an original and irresistible heroine in a story full of hope, art, and love."
—R. J. Palacio, author of Wonder

"Melleby's debut examines the complexities of having a parent with a mental illness and the responsibilities that kids sometimes must shoulder. Themes of trust and LGBTQ romance are incorporated into this weighty but hopeful story."
—Booklist

"Melleby's debut novel includes two coming-out stories—Fig has a crush on an older girl—but integrates these elements naturally into its main story of the father-daughter relationship, as each struggles with how much to share with the other and when. Details involving art and science (STEM-oriented Fig tries to relate to her musician father and draws connections between his condition and Vincent van Gogh's) lend specificity and keep the plotlines centering on LGBTQ+ identities and bipolar disorder from feeling overly formulaic."
—The Horn Book

"This debut novel—about taking risks and facing danger, about love and art, and about growing up and coming out—will make its way straight into your heart . . . stunning . . . I found it hard to put down."
—Confessions of a YA Reader

"Hurricane Season is a powerful middle grade novel that deals with some really important issues . . . Fig is beautifully crafted and real, and readers will whole-heartedly fall in love with her."
—YA Books Central

"[Melleby] handles several complex issues—bisexuality, single parenthood, LGBTQ issues, and mental illness—age-appropriately and with nuance. The novel includes interesting information about Vincent Van Gogh and shows young readers the transformational power of art. Melleby's beautifully written and moving debut depicts a well-crafted character in search of safety and understanding. An important and expertly layered novel."
—New York Journal of Books

"A warm, vivid, and resonant story of the child that resides in every guardian, and the guardian in every child. An important debut."
—Eliot Schrefer, New York Times Bestselling Author of Endangered

"Hurricane Season is unforgettable. It will reach into your heart and stay there long after."
—Donna Freitas, author of The Healer