NORTHWOOD (AP) - Northwood students who spent their senior year in Hatton after a tornado devastated their town have put together a book of essays about their experiences and emotions.

The fear, sorrow and uncertainty the students felt after the Aug. 26 tornado that destroyed their school are captured in "Our Turn: Tales of the Tornado."

High school English teacher Sarah Burger assigned her students to write about their tornado experiences when they returned to school in Hatton in September. The results moved her, she said.

"After we read them, I just knew that they should have a wider audience," she said.

A Grand Forks publisher printed the book - a 46-page softcover containing 49 essays, one poem, four pages of photos, a foreword by Superintendent Kevin Coles and an afterword by Burger.

The books went on sale at local businesses for $5 apiece in late April. The proceeds will pay for books and other items for the English department when Northwood's new school opens for the 2009-10 school year, Burger said.

The initial order of 1,000 books is going fast and more might need to be printed, she said.

"The community has really been supportive," Burger said.

Northwood seniors who were to graduate Sunday insisted the ceremony be held in the city's community center, and not at the Hatton school where they spent the past nine months.

"Everybody for sure wanted to be in Northwood," senior Mark Wallace said.