Reviews

Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King

sassacass's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

A solid story about a teenage girl finding her identity while contending with her traumas. I really enjoyed Sarah's other selves, they added nuance and richness to her character. The plot itself was a little disorganized and not fully satisfying to me, but th characters were interesting to see progress.

I feel like Sarah and Bruce's mother, although a victim as well, got off too easy. She didn't protect her children by refusing to leave her husband, and although that eventually comes, I feel like her children would still hold some bad feelings towards her, since she was the adult in the situation, and they were helpless.

dembury's review

4.0

No one writes complicated, real teenagers quite like A.S. King. Her books impress and delight me each time.

avviiieeeeeeeee's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sel21's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

cristiangarcia's review

4.0

Somewhere, somehow I heard about this book and I put it in my "to read" list; I started reading it without having a clue about it, and I liked it. I did not know where the story was going to take me, I just enjoyed the ride. I read the book somehow fast, I was expecting some "paranormal" or "science fictional" element to it, but it was a very normal story, very intimate and real after all. This is not the type of book I read and maybe that is why I liked it, it felt "original".

hayleybeale's review

5.0

White 16 year-old Sarah is having an “existential crisis” after an incident in art class and stops going to school. But it is only when she meets up with her 10 year-old and 23 year-old selves that she can begin to understand that there is a much deeper root to her troubles. Tornado has A. S. King's signature blend of emotionally resonant reality illuminated by crazily imaginative (but straight-faced) fantasy. See my full review here.

sparklethenpop's review

5.0

Her best book yet.

nklosty's review

3.0

There are part of the story that truly intrigue me. I get lost at times in the overlap of the stories. 84

sidnarwhal's review

5.0

Another amazing book by A.S. King, as expected.

dynamicdylan's review

4.0

CW: Abusive Parents, Violence, Child Abuse, Divorce, Mentions of adult characters in relationship with minors.

This book was really compelling. We follow a sixteen-year-old girl named Sarah who had something traumatic happen in her past when her family was on a trip to Mexico. Now she's seeing other versions of herself and is spiraling out of control. She threatens to drop out of school.
I really liked this book and how it explored some very real and heavy topics. The characters were what drove the story along. It took a little while to get going, so I wouldn't call this a favorite. But the way the author wrote this story was well handled. I could relate to the main character in a lot of ways, going through a similar experience when I was her age. If you can handle the subject matter, I would recommend it.