The Book of Storms by Ruth Hatfield

Danny's parents are storm chasers.  They leave him home all snug and tucked in, and go where the wind takes them.  He's used to that.  But he also used to them coming home...

Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published January 27th, so make a note to pick it up then.

When his parents don't return one night, he decides he needs to go find them.  Not only did they disappear, a big old tree in their yard was struck down and broken by the lightning.  He finds a small stick, almost like a wand, on the ground and it seems the tree talks to him.  He doesn't understand it's meaning and wonders if it's his imagination.  No, it's not.  There's an evil being coming for that stick and while he can't kill Danny, he can certainly do him harm.

This story has the taste of Bradbury in it.  Death and the Devil are fighting each other.  Danny gets involved because his parent's got to close to the power of the storms, and how it's going to be resolved is doubtful.

Ms. Hatfield creates a mean scary story with odd happenings and makes it sound believable.  Once you start reading this story, you won't want to stop.  You also don't have to worry about being bored.  

This will make a great read for young adults.  If they have a problem with nightmares, I wouldn't recommend it.  However, most kids will read this and hope for more of Danny's story.  He battled the Devil and won this battle, but the battle isn't over yet...