In “I Survived the Joplin Tornado” by Lauren Tarshis, a destructive tornado is about to hit the city of Joplin, Missouri. The history fiction book covers the destruction produced by the Joplin tornado of 2011. The evil force changes the character's’  impacts in their life.

The 11-year-old main character, Dexter has always wanted to see a tornado but never experience one. His life gets difficult when the tornado eliminates his beloved city, Joplin. Dexter is an adventurous and brave and that’s why he deserves greater actions. A few days later Dexter accepts to meet the famous storm chaser, Dr.Norman. Together they are a team. However, Dexter still disagrees with the chance of the tornado has to hit Joplin. Another important character in the story is Dex’s brother, Jeremy. Jeremy would watch every night to see Jeremy in The US Navy Seals some day. His supportive dog, Zeke helps and underpins Dex wherever he goes. I think the involving of the dog makes the story more interesting. Other characters include Dex’s friends and Mr.Tucker. The story starts up in its climax. The surprising tornado is destroying Joplin killing over 200 people. Dexter is left experiencing the biggest terror of his life. The next chapter begins a normal day earlier and the mood is calm. However, in chapter 6 the destructive tornado approaches the story. Lauren Tarshis described the F5 tornado as a monster. The aftermath is devastating and Dexter loses close relatives and friends. Overall the book is really interesting and exciting to read. Every page foreshadows the other. The vocabulary used is simple and the book is relatively short with about 100 pages. Mentioning that it would best fit and be recommended to elementary school kids. People that like history will love this book especially the ones that like tornadoes.