Thirteen-year-old Frankie Harper is a tornado buff with Asperger's and ADHD. She lives with her mother, her twin sister Tess, and her mother's boyfriend Charles in an inn in Long Beach. She and Tess used to be best friends with their classmate Colette, but they had a falling out two months ago, and now Frankie is friendless. But one night a few weeks before the end of seventh grade, Colette visits Frankie, asking to borrow their notebook from elementary school. Frankie refuses; the next day, Colette goes missing. Frankie enlists Tess to help solve the mystery of Colette's disappearance.
Tornado Brain contains examples of:
- Cathartic Scream: Frankie sometimes deals with stress by going to the beach and screaming into the wind.
- Character Tics: Frankie flaps her hands when she's stressed. Tess constantly bites her nails so there's no white area, and used to have a habit of ripping up things like napkins and movie tickets.
- Clock Discrepancy: The night Colette visited Frankie, she also visited Tess and asked for a scarf. Both sisters remember her showing up at exactly 6:45 and staying for several minutes, even though she couldn't have been two places at once. Tess later realizes that she forgot to reset her clock for daylight savings time, meaning Colette actually visited her at 7:45.
- Converse with the Unconscious: Attempted. Colette is found days after a bike accident and ends up in the hospital with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 5, meaning she's probably doomed. Her mother brings Tess and Frankie in to talk to her to see if hearing their voices helps, but Colette dies anyway.
- Dedication: "For the remarkable Adiline M. What a force of nature you are."
- Don't Look At Me: Frankie screams in frustration. A family walking by stares at her. Frankie yells, "Don't look at me!" The family quickly scurries past.
- First Friend: Colette and Frankie met in kindergarten when they were hiding under a table during an EF3 tornado that just barely missed the school. They hugged each other in fear, despite Frankie's usual aversion to physical contact, and Colette said, "If we don't die, let's be friends."
- First Period Panic: Frankie realizes she's gotten hers when she notices she's left a red stain on a motorcycle at the arcade. Dismayed, she hides in the bathroom and texts Tess, who has already gotten her period, to bring her a sweatshirt to wrap around her waist so she can go home.
- Forgets to Eat: Frankie's mom sometimes has to remind her to eat so she doesn't get hangry. Frankie understands why, but she's still annoyed by it.
- Full-Name Ultimatum: When Frankie shouts at her mom for sitting on her bed, her mom gasps, "Frances Vivienne Harper!"
- Go to Your Room!: Frankie's mom orders her to her room for yelling at a police officer. Instead she goes outside and screams.
- I Want My Mommy!: During the tornado in kindergarten, Colette sucked her thumb and said, "I want my mommy."
- The Nicknamer: Kai calls Frankie things like Frankenstein and Frank and Beans. Frankie pretends to be annoyed, even though she actually likes the names.
- No Medication for Me: Frankie spent years on various medications with a wide variety of unpleasant side effects. Now her mom says she can stay off medication if she can control her temper without it, so she works hard to stay calm.
- Poster-Gallery Bedroom: Tess's room is covered in inspirational posters and her own drawings. Frankie's is covered in pictures of tornados.
- Portmanteau Couple Name: In-universe example. Before her disappearance, Colette was dating Bryce. Other kids called them "Brolette," even though they barely interacted before they started dating.
- Working Out Their Emotions: On the advice of an occupational therapist, Frankie runs to get her mind off Sensory Overload.
- Your Makeup Is Running: Tess's friend Mia comes over because she's upset about someone drawing on one of her flyers. Frankie sees her with mascara under her eyes, and wonders why she'd bother to put on makeup if she's just going to cry it off anyway.
