• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

★“Immediately takes one’s breath away with its poetry and power…Deeply affecting. An ideal tool to illustrate poetic elements or emphasize stories of sharing scary yet necessary truths.”—School Library Journal, starred review

A young teen's secret is tearing him apart.

He knows he is gay but is afraid to share this knowledge with his parents or his friends. What if they reject him? And what can he do with the feelings he has for his childhood friend when he knows his friend does not feel the same way? The turmoil continues to rise with the force of a hurricane—total destruction seems almost certain.

Told in beautiful, evocative prose with its unique design, Like A Hurricane is a visually stunning exploration of what it means to be true to one's self.

Auteur des romans Souffler dans la cassette (Leméac, 2017), récipiendaire du prix Cécile-Gagnon, et Maman veut partir (Leméac, 2018), récipiendaire du prix Alvine-Belisle, Jonathan Bécotte a terminé ses études en éducation à l’Université Concordia au printemps 2020. Maintenant enseignant au primaire, également titulaire d’un baccalauréat en études théâtrales, on reconnaît son style d’écriture à la poésie qui teinte ses récits et aux voix enfantines qui savent faire résonner la beauté dans l’ordinaire. Honey et Ketchup est son premier album pour enfants illustré.

Jonathan Bécotte's profile page

JONATHAN KAPLANSKY won a French Voices Award to translate Nobel Prize winning author Annie Ernaux’s La vie extérieure (Things Seen). His translation of Frank Borzage: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Romantic by Hervé Dumont was a finalist for the Wall Award from the Theatre Library Association. Recent translations include Jonathan Bécotte’s Like a Hurricane, Hélène Rioux’s The End of the World is Elsewhere, and the libretto of an opera by Hélène Dorion and Marie-Claire Blais entitled Yourcenar: An Island of Passions. He has also translated Dorion’s Days of Sand. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Kaplansky now lives in Montreal.

Jonathan Kaplansky's profile page

• Nominated, Young Readers' Choice Book Awards of British Columbia (YRCABC) Red Cedar Book Awards - Fiction
• Short-listed, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry Award
• Commended, Children's Book Council Librarian Favorites Award 6th - 8th Grade
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Commended, Ontario Library association (OLA) Best Bets - Honourable Mention
• Commended, Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom

“Beautiful, heart-warming, heart-rending, exquisitely realized in verse with minimal text, each word powerful and poignant...A text one will want to read and reread and reread. Highly Recommended.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“Powerful…The design of this moving book is as stormy as Bécotte’s insightful poems.”

Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Canadian Children’s Book News

“A sensitive and evocative stream-of-consciousness novel that might very well heal readers struggling with their identities. Very highly recommended.”

Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Canadian Children’s Book News

★“Takes one’s breath away with its poetry and power…The kind of book readers can pore over. The more time spent with it, the better it gets…Deeply affecting. An ideal tool to illustrate poetic elements or emphasize stories of sharing scary yet necessary truths.”

School Library Journal (SLJ), starred review

★“Immediate and immersive...Sensitive and reassuring, this book powerfully explores the deeply personal and universal need to breathe ‘for real, / for the first time.’”

Quill & Quire, starred review

“Utilizes different layouts for the boy's words, allowing them to flow along and around the pages…An engaging and direct piece for this age group. It is a page-turning novel in verse that pulls at the reader’s heartstrings…A very worthwhile addition to any collection serving middle-school-age kids. Highly Recommended.”

School Library Connection

“Succinct, highly emotive text sensitively conveys the protagonist’s shifting worldview and his developing courage in owning who he is and allowing his family and friends, who are minimally characterized, to act as a support system amid his internal storm.”

Publishers Weekly

“Readers will feel the strong emotion described by the author and share the sense of every feeling expressed. Heart-wrenching true, and triumphant in the end. Written for everyone who needs this story. Recommended for elementary classrooms and libraries.”

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD)