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    Death Wind
    Death Wind
    Death Wind
    Ebook56 pages47 minutes

    Death Wind

    By William Bell

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    About this ebook

    Allie's life has just taken a turn for the worse; not only do her parents fight all the time, but she is failing more classes than not and now she thinks she might be pregnant. Unable to face up to her parents she decides to run away. She hooks up with her old friend Razz, a professional skateboarder, and goes on the road. Razz is ranked number one but constant confrontations with the challenger Slash put Allie in some dangerous situations. With the rivalry heating up, Razz and Allie head toward home--right into the path of a fierce tornado. To survive in the horror and destruction that follow the storm, Allie has to call on an inner strength she didn't know she had.

    Also available in Spanish.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateJan 1, 2005
    ISBN9781554696024
    Death Wind

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    • 4/5
      Faced with three overwhelming events all at the same time: pregnancy, fighting parents, and poor grades, Allie runs away. She accompanies her friend Razz who happens to be the national skateboarding champion. After winning a tournament, Razz has to return home to do a television interview with his rival, Slammer. On the way home, they see, and are almost caught up in, a tornado. The rest of the story revolves around death, heroism, destruction, and reunification. The reading level is middle school aged, but deals with mature themes, making this a book aimed at teens. The narrative is based on a true story of when tornadoes touched down in Ontario. Teens will like the book because it contains themes that they can relate to. This book will be of high interest, but with an easy reading level which will be especially good for students that are struggling with their reading. Recommended for schools and libraries, especially ones where tornadic activity is likely to occur.

    Book preview

    Death Wind - William Bell

    Friend

    Chapter One

    ALLIE’S PARENTS were arguing again.

    Allie slammed her bedroom door, rolled onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. Eight o’clock in the morning and they’re at it already, she thought. She tried to block out the noise, but the harsh words made their way upstairs and through her door. Her mother was a shrieker. The madder she got, the higher her voice went. Her father was a rumbler. When he got mad, his voice got deeper—and he would have the Hurt Look on his face.

    They were arguing about Allie again. It was the old story. Her mother said her father was too soft and let Allie get away with too much. After she shrieked for awhile, Allie’s father would say her mother was too stiff and she should give a little. Right on, thought Allie as she lay on her bed. I wonder what you guys would think if you knew the mess that I’m in now.

    Allie climbed out of her bed and plunked herself down in the chair at her little desk, leaning on her elbows and cupping her hands over her ears. Stop! She cried, inside her head. Stop arguing!

    The report card lying on the messy desktop caught her eye. She groaned, flip-ping the stiff yellow booklet open. There were three bright red circles on it. She had failed three out of four subjects. Last year she had stood near the top of her class, but this year, since she started going out with Jack, her marks had dropped. Her nickname used to be Brainy—Razz had given it to her in grade seven—but no one was using it lately.

    Allie looked across the room to the calendar. There was a big photo of a pink kitten batting a ball of blue yarn with its tiny paw. The yarn was all tangled around the kitten’s legs and head. Below the photo the days of the month were arranged in neat rows. May 1 had a red circle around it, drawn in crayon. Today was May 6.

    Allie was five days overdue. She was afraid she was pregnant. Wouldn’t that be just my luck, she thought. Jack had dumped her three weeks ago. He had told her in the cafeteria at lunchtime, while stuffing fries and gravy into his mouth. He told her he didn’t want to be pinned down anymore. But they could still be friends, he had said. Yeah, sure, thought Allie, you’ll be my buddy if I’m knocked up, won’t you, Jack?

    Allie wondered now what she had ever seen in Jack. He was cute, sure, and a lot of fun. And it had made Allie feel good when she stole Jack from that snob, Angela Burrows. But for the last couple of months he hadn’t paid much attention to her. Except for sex. Allie knew she could never tell him about the red circle on her calendar.

    The shrieking and rumbling downstairs got louder. Her parents were arguing about money now. Allie looked down at the three red circles on the report card, then back at the red circle on the calendar. She could imagine what would happen when her parents found out. Her father would put on the Hurt Look and make her feel super guilty. Her mother would put on the I Told You So Look and start to wind up the shriek machine. Worst of all, Allie admitted to herself, they would be right.

    Allie wished she could disappear. She wanted to be like that soft white fluff on a dandelion and float away on the wind. Somewhere, anywhere but here.

    Then Allie made up her mind. Maybe she could disappear—get away from her parents’ arguing and from the four red circles.

    She went to the dresser and got a

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