Before the storm, thirteen-year-old Quinn was happy flying under the radar. She was average. Unremarkable. Always looking for an escape from her house, where her bickering parents fawned over her genius big brother.
Inside our broken home
we didnât know how broken
the world outside was.
After the storm, Quinn canât seem to go back to unremarkable. But her friends werenât changed by the tornado. To them, the storm left behind a playground of abandoned houses and distracted adults. As Quinn struggles to find stability in the tornadoâs aftermath, she must choose: between
homes, friendships, and versions of herself.
Nothing that was mine
yesterday is mine today.
Told in rich, spectacular verse, poet Caroline Brooks DuBois crafts a powerful story of redemption as Quinn makes her way from Before to After. This emotional coming-of-age journey for middle grade readers proves that itâs never too late to be the person you want to be.