I went into this book with literally no idea what this book was about. I was happily surprised by what I read! I am a big advocate for more Middle grade novels that deal with mental health and mental illness and I think this is a beautiful example of that. Fig is essentially the caretaker for her single parent dad. Most of the time she can handle his erratic behavior but it always get worse during Hurricane season. CPS is already aware of the situation between Fig and her dad due to the police finding him out in the middle of a hurricane. Things get worse when her dad's behavior follows her to school and the teacher calls CPS. With the help of their new neighbor, Marc, things are getting better... except Fig doesn't know what to do when her dad doesn't need her and she doesn't know how to deal with all the drama that comes with being a middle schooler too.
This novel was beautifully written and it tells a story not often told in Middle Grade books. I liked the ways that Fig as the narrator drew parallels between Vincent Van Gogh and her dad. I liked the bond with Marc. The way the author showed how smart and competent kids can be, but that they shouldn't have to parent their parents. There were some parts that were tedious and frustrating but overall this is a beautiful story.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF. I decided to try it to explore more of the middle grade genre, but I’m much too old and too biased to heavier books to give a fair review. I’m sure that the intended target audience will thoroughly enjoy it.

This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

Amazing story, very moving and with wonderful representation. I felt sad upon finishing it, which rarely ever happens.

My Rating: 3.5 stars
Hurricane Season is a middle-grade novel that deals with mental health (bipolar disorder, anxiety), as well as discovering who you like romantically.

Fig is in the sixth grade and her entire life it's just been her and her dad. While most of the time that's been great, it's also gotten harder over the years as her dad's mental health has gone downhill and he has become seriously obsessed with hurricanes to the point where it is now dangerous. Fig is trying to handle this all on her own, but one night it becomes too much and she has to ask for help from a neighbor (Mark) and hopes he won't call the authorities and cause her to be taken away. Asking for help from the neighbor might just be the best decision fig has ever made in her young life, but it isn't an easy road ahead for any of them.

Overall I did really enjoy this book. Fig is a likable character and you see her struggle trying to juggle everything and knowing what to do or not do because of her age. The neighbor Mark ends up helping out Fig and her dad so so much and I loved seeing the relationship between all of them grow and change throughout the book. So much mental health-wise was covered in this book in a short time-period but it was all done well. We see Fig struggling to come to terms with all the new things happening with her dad, but also like some of the changes. We also see how much anxiety she really seems to have as the book goes on and we see it all really close in on her. I really liked Fig's relationship with Danny and how they helped each other, the little fight they ended up happening did seem realistic because that type of thing just happens when you're in sixth grade and learning to deal with emotions and conflict.

Slightly spoilery below this point.

Did anyone else not see the relationship happening between Mark and Fig's dad until Fig found them? That one surprised me, but after a while did make sense because of how much time they were spending together. Idk it just seems like it was kind of thrown in last minute to create a conflict of sorts. I did like what it did to the story I was just surprised by it.

This is a coming of age story featuring the difficult relationship between Fig and her father, Tim. It’s just the two of them and something is troubling her father, causing him to act erratically at times. Fig is very observant and can often predict when an episode is starting. He had a public incident that caused social services to become involved. The story explores the diagnosis, treatment and maturation of Tim as well as the effect that his evolution has on his daughter. This was told in a sweet way.
I really enjoyed the representation in this story and the acceptance of people’s differences. I also liked the artistic side of the story, involving both music and art. The story spans Hurricane seasons and often centers on storms coming into their town.
Recommend this one.
#HurricaneSeason #Netgalley #AlgonquinYouthBooks

What a beautiful story this was.

I like that we had a Van Gogh theme. After watching Loving Vincent last year I felt like I understood a bit more and could appriectae the references and connection that out main character, Fig, made between Van Gogh and her dad's mental health. (All the connections with music, art etc was great!)
I think the introduction to mental health for a young audience is tackled really well. I'm not sure if the author is own voices for this strand of mental health representation, but I do think it was expressed well, and although I didn't grow up like Fig, I felt I could relate having one parent that suffers with a strong mental health condition and only realising as I got older how that explained how he behaved at times.
I'm glad that it helped debunk straight away the stigma of bipolar disorder being like "split personality" which everyone assumes and described it more accurately as being depressed and manic, often with no in between. Two extremes.

Sexuality was also brought up in this. It felt soft and gentle, understanding and quite. I appreciated this way of bringing it up because it's nice to see a positive representation of coming out. Hopefully it makes a daunting experience less so, when you can see that it's not always a horrible outcome.

At first I thought Fig overreacted when finding out something to do with her dad and then I realised, as I looked at it through her eyes, that she felt he should have confided in her as she was experiencing something similar and tried so hard to understand him... she must have felt such deep rejection. How this eventually play out was so emotional to read.

I just found Hurricane Season to be so wholesome how, yes, things were traumatic for a young kid to be a part of and feel responsibility for, but it was written in a way that wouldn't scare a young audience, but perhaps make them ask questions and slowly find out what's happening as Fig and her dad find out together.

There were a lot of important themes on this book, that I found was tackled respectively, delicately, realistically, all without leaving behind general entertainment, enjoyability and a connection and care for what happened to our characters.

“She thought about the self-portrait, Van Gogh’s art, and about the last piece of music her dad finished—the one titled Finola that he kept in his desk. He named that song for her, and sometimes, when he was okay, she could convince him to play parts of it. Sometimes her dad couldn’t find the words for his thoughts; sometimes they got lost or trapped in his head. Those times, he’d play her song, and Fig would know—she would know—that even on his worst days, he loved her more than everything.”

Eleven-year-old Fig does more taking care of her musician dad than he of her. She makes sure the bills are paid and that her favorite breakfast cereal and his special tea are on hand. While she prefers math and science, she takes art to better understand her dad’s manic creativity, but after witnessing his erratic behavior, her art teacher reports him to social services. The thing that Fig hoped would bring her and her dad closer threatens to tear them apart.

A boy in Fig’s art class takes a special interest to her but she is attracted to a girl. Fig’s dad asks her if she likes girls, to which Fig replies: “I like Hannah. I don’t know the rest.”* This to me is the perfect note, showing that it’s okay not to have all the answers about one’s sexually, especially in middle school.

Fig’s relationship with her father and his mental illnesses are nicely portrayed. This novel is a great middle grade coming of age novel with realistic issues and well-developed characters. The infusion of Van Gogh’s life and art adds a texture and vivid color reminiscent of his famous Starry Night painting.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Algonquin Books, for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text.

“She didn’t trust his mind- only his heart. When push came to shove, the broken bits of his mind often won that battle.”

I loved this book. It was one of the rare instances where a children’s book hit me in the same places that an adult one would, and it took gut punch after gut punch. Even still, all of the characters were immensely likable, trying their best for each other and working towards a better future. Fig, the protagonist, is an 11 year old girl who has been forced to care for her sweet, yet very sick father as he battles bipolar disorder. Fig’s father is well fleshed out, well meaning, and deeply, deeply sad in a way that makes the reader want to try and hold him up the way Fig does.
Well researched, moving, I’ll definitely be ordering a copy of this book for our stacks.

Fig and her father make up a small family of two after her mother leaves them. As her father struggles more with his undiagnosed bipolar disorder, a teacher at Fig’s school reports her family to CPS. Fig feels increasing pressure to prove that her father is competent and hold her family together. Not only is she feeling the weight of these very adult responsibilities but she is also just a sixth grader trying to figure out who she is as a person and an artist. Hurricane Season does a wonderful job of showing how a struggle with mental illness effects the whole family. I also love the art aspects of this story. Fig’s father, Tim, was a well-known pianist and composer, who has struggled to continue to work as a musician as his mental illness takes over his life. Fig tries to better understand her father and herself by taking an art class and studying Van Gogh. These elements of art and life make this a story I strongly recommend for readers of middle grade novels. n does a wonderful job of showing how a struggle with mental illness

Fig's mother left when Fig was just a baby and her father is a classical pianist and song writer. However, it has been years since her father completed anything. His moodiness and episodes have drawn the attention of social services. Now, Fig is terrified of losing the only parent she has. Most of her friends don't understand and have started avoiding her.
This is a well-written story of a family's struggle with mental illness and also gender identity.

This was the best book I read. I cried to there are very less books which make me cried. I felt so much for the mc fig. She is 11 year old but she was the best. I loved the story. Even though I read middle grade novel often this will be very special to me.

Middle grade needs more books that deal with mental illness and LGBTQ. This book does a good job in these areas and while there is some heaviness there is also hope. Incorporating art into the story and using the parallels between Van Gogh and Fig's family was great. I loved it.

A thoughtful and moving debut novel exploring family, mental illness, codependency, and the power of art.

I used to have this huge assumption that a middle-grade story will be too childish for me, now that I'm in my twenties. I'm glad to say that I've been proven wrong after I read Hurricane Season.

Melleby's debut is an innocent coming of age journey, following the story of Fig and her attempt to looks normal in the eyes of her friends while also taking care of his pianist father who suffered from bipolar disorder. It explores art, coming out, finding your voice, and speaking the truth no matter how hard it seems to be. I've never thought that I'd learned so many things from a sixth-grader.

I'm definitely eyeing Melleby's next book and I'm on my way to check out more books in this genre!

Thank you Algonquin Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fig, short for fiona, is a sixth grader in a single parent home, spends much of her time agonizing over her mentally fragile father. Although he is a renowned pianist and composer, his mental health has him paralyzed, and he only works as piano teacher when he is well. Interactions between father daughter, and their relationship with their new neighbor, provide a beautiful example family living through a hurricane season.

Wow. Hurricane Season is such a beautifully crafted novel that tells the story of Fig, a sixth grade girl being raised by her single father who struggles with mental illness. The love these characters have for each other through difficult situations is obvious, and as a reader I was completely engrossed in this story from the beginning to the end. It had such an authentic feel to the narrative as Fig is going through situations not only in her family life, but her personal life as well. This novel is beautiful, emotional, authentic, but most of all it is important.

There are many great middle grade books out there but please, prioritize reading this one.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2880379240

This is a great middle grade novel.

This story features important life events which are not usually discussed in middle grade books. Fig is discovering her own sexuality, while her father is as well. Her father is an adult, but he is still figuring out his identity. It was challenging for Fig to learn that her dad was changing in this way.

I loved the comparison of art and life in this story. Fig studies Van Gogh for her art class, and she notices a lot of similarities between him and her father. This is a great way to introduce kids to artists like Van Gogh. She was able to learn a lot from his art, which could be applied to her life as well.

I really enjoyed this story!

Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hurricane season is a time of uncertainty. The months can pass by without any fanfare at all. Or the winds and storms can hit land and do their damage. For twelve-year-old Fig in Nicole Melleby’s Hurricane Season, this unpredictability becomes the pattern of her days. She never knows when the storm within her father’s mind and heart will change course and make landfall.

Usually, Fig can handle the fallout, or, at least, pretend to, but when her Dad comes to school and makes a scene, embarrassing her in front of her classmates and leading her teacher to make a call to Child Protection and Permanency, Fig fears that the damage is irreparable.

Counting down the days on a calendar, Fig waits for the end of hurricane season, which coincides with CP&P’s decision about whether or not her father is fit to parent. It’s a question that Fig doesn’t want to ask. She stubbornly believes that her father, a musician, who always professes “double” the sentiment in his I love yous, is, simply, misunderstood.

Despite her love for math and science and its concrete predictability, Fig decides to turn to art to better understand her father’s erratic behavior. At first, she’s drawn to Van Gogh’s paintings for their bright colors and swirls, but, later, she comes to discover that Van Gogh, like her Dad, also suffers from bi-polar disorder. As she learns more about his life, she can’t help but find similarities in Van Gogh’s relationship with his brother, Theo, who took care of his brother in his darkest times.

But, like a shift in weather patterns, Fig’s father begins seeking treatment. Their new neighbor, Mark, takes on the role of caretaker and, gradually, something more in her father’s life. And Fig finds herself unmoored; questioning the pull to the storm growing in her own mind, as she tries to figure out where and how she fits into this new paradigm.

Melleby’s colorful and swirling prose give this novel a dreamlike quality. It echoes the ebb and flow of music and the ocean, the two backdrops in Fig’s life. The first comes in the feverish, unfinished songs her father tries to compose and the second in the one place that teems with the possibility of the tempest she is, both, drawn to and fears.

A realistic and sensitive portrayal of mental health, Hurricane Season is about acceptance. Gradually, Fig and her father learn to accept help, from one another and from friends, teachers, and professionals. They also come to accept that good and bad can come in tandem and that their ability to weather life’s inevitable storms will grow stronger with each season.