Don’t Call Me a Hurricane

Gr 8 Up–Not all writers should be their own narrators. Hagan reprises her author/reader efforts after Reckless, Glorious, Girl with disappointing results. Already bloated with repetitive pontifications about environmental activism and climate change justice (which apparently includes drunken vandalism to a tony mansion under construction), Hagan’s verse novel hardly benefits from her own too-often overly aggressive delivery. Eliza, 17, still suffers from PTSD after almost losing her younger brother during a hurricane that devastated her Long Beach Island community five years ago. While her family and closest friends’ families call Long Beach Island home all year, vacationing outsiders continue to arrive each summer, their encroaching developments threatening the barrier island’s marshland. Among the summer crowds this year is privileged wannabe surfer Milo from NYC. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, but their contrasting backgrounds might ultimately render them incompatible.