Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina

An excellent young adult book written by the author of Freak The Mighty, In addition, he is the recipient of a Newbery Honor Award for The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg.

Zane never knew his father who was killed shortly after his birth. Raised by a loving mother, his life is secure. When

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his mother discovered relatives that she never knew her husband had, she connects with Zane's grandmother in New Orleans, LA.

Encouraging Zane to spend a week with his grandmother, Zane agrees if he can take his beloved dog with him.

Vowing not to enjoy his trip, he soon develops an attachment to his grandmother. Unfortunately, he happens to visit New Orleans when an impending hurricane to beat all hurricanes is slated to hit New Orleans.

Escaping with his grandmother, and his dog, they find transportation with the minister of his grandmother's church. Driving inch by inch on the road out of New Orleans, he opens the window for relief from the heat, never anticipating that his dog would jump out the window.

Zane quickly decides to find his dog and follows him back to his grandmother's house. As they reach the house, the rain and wind furiously knock at the house, breaking the windows and destroying all power sources. Finding their way to the attic, fearful that they will die, Zane punches a hole and is successful in getting them to the roof.

Shortly thereafter they are rescued by a local, colorful man with a cat in the hat like hat on his head. In addition, in the canoe is a smart mouth, fiesty girl is age.

As together the travel the snake infested waters and watch as the end of the world seems to appear, he grows fond of his traveling companions.

There is danger both in the water and on land. The author does a great job of depicting the terror and chaos of the fall out from the storm and the breaking of the leeves.

The relationships between the three travelers and his trusty dog are heartwarming.

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Captivating story of a boy forced to visit his grandmother who ends up getting caught in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Great dialect. I would recommend this for emotionally mature readers even though it would be easy enough to read as there are floating dead bodies, and cavalier threats at

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gunpoint.
Gritty and Realistic and Wonderful.
Could bring up some interesting conversations on race, white privilege, etc.

Includes helpful Gulf Coast map and timeline as well as Interesting Facts section and Author's Note. I wish it had a map of the parishes with the places they traveled marked.

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Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina is a great, a little bit gritty, book for middle graders. Rodman Philbrick has taken real stories of what happened to people during the hurricane. He brings them together in a cohesive and emotionally powerful story with a bit of a mystery.

Zane Dupree is

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soon to be thirteen years old and lives in New Hampshire with his mother. His father who was black and died before his birth and his mother is white. When his father died, his mother tried desperately to find his father's relatives. Finally she gets a letter that Beatrice Jackson in New Orleans, Louisiana raised his father. Beatrice or "Miss Trissy is Zane's great grandmother. But Zane's mother always said that he was from Mississippi! His mother gets the idea to send Zane to New Orleans to meet her. So Zane and his dog, Bandy fly to New Orleans. It just so happens that there is also a tropical depression headed there a little later. That depression later became Hurricane Katrina.

The characters are richly developed the pacing is perfect. I really cared about Zane and his new found friend Malvina. Zane finds himself is a struggle for survival in many ways and at different times in this book. I was holding my breath more than once! Mr. Philbrick gets the dialect perfect and I love the way that he portrayed Miss Trissy and Zane's dog Bandy. In fact I loved all the characters. Another character in this tale is actually Hurricane Katrina. She wreaked havoc on New Orleans fueled the anger and fear the residents. The smells of the Superdome and of flooded New Orleans were all vivid images.

I strongly recommend this book to middle graders and to everyone who wants to know what it was like to be in Hurricane Katrina.

I received this book as a win from FirstReads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review

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Zane and his dog, Bandy, go to New Orleans to meet the great-grandma he'd never met. He has the unfortunate luck to be in town right when hurricane Katrina hits. He's on a bus to evacuate when his beloved dog jumps out the window and he follows.
After getting saved from the roof by Tru and Melvina,

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the three of them try desperately to get help and get to safety. It's a dark, compelling read. From classism an racism getting in the way of the group getting help to a rogue drug dealer. Zane gets to appreciate a part of his family and heritage he had not experienced previously. However, there were some coincidences that were a little too neat.
An enjoyable, quick read.

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Zane Dupree is from New Hampshire. His dad was from New Orleans, so his mother wants him to take a trip and get to know his great grandmother, who raised his dad. Zane never really knew his Dad, as his father passed away when he was one.
Zane and his dog, Bandit (Bandy) get to New Orleans to stay

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with Trissy (his great grandmother). Days after getting there, there is a warning about a hurricane, so Trissy gathers up herself, Zane and Bandy to get on a bus to get out.
While trying to leave, Bandy jumps out a window and Zane gets off the bus to chase the dog. At this point, the hurricane is taking shape and the story starts.
This is a good example of the good and bad in people, and the terrible disaster that struck that area.

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Twelve-year-old Zane Dupree knows very little about his deceased father's family. His mother makes contact with his great- grandmother so she sends him to visit her in New Orleans, along with his beloved dog Bandit. Things are strange enough in the city despite how comfortable he feels with great

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grandmother, Miss Trissy, but they are about to get stranger still. Zane arrives right before Hurricane Katrina, and Miss Trissy lives in the Ninth Ward where considerable damage was done in August 2005. The author does an commendable job of describing the hectic days before Hurricane Katrina's arrival as well as the deafening rain, the wind, and the fast-rising waters that fill the bowl-shaped city that lies beneath the sea level. Philbrick makes it clear how the city became divided as some were willing to help others while other individuals became somewhat paranoid and unwilling to trust anyone or lend a helping hand. After reading this novel you have a greater understanding of the confusion and paranoia that suffused the area during the disaster.

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RGG: Strong characters, a loveable dog (that doesn't die!), and (non-didactic) insights into how racism affected folx of color. Reading Interest: 10-12

Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina by Rodman Philbrick
Genre: Middle Grades, Historical Fiction
Source: I own the book

After years and years of reading I am finally able to say that I lean toward books that area about disasters, survival and are emotional. I’ve realized recently that no

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matter what the genre those are some of the things the books all have in common. This book is no different. Zane and his dog go to visit his great-grandmother in New Orleans. As Hurricane Katrina heads toward them, they evacuate. Then Zane and his dog are separated from his great-grandmother. He makes his way back to her house where he waits out the storm in her house. Trapped in the attic he is rescued by Mr. Tru and Malvina. From here the story is about survival. The author has done a lot of research to show what it was like during the aftermath of the hurricane. He doesn’t shy away from the racial or political atrocities the people of New Orleans faced. This is what makes this such a valuable read. Kids need to read, understand and discuss matters such as this book brings about. I would highly recommend it.

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Excellent Katrina story. Quick read with short chapters and a fast paced plot -- really enjoyed it. I think what I enjoyed the most was the portrayal of New Orleans' culture through the people that Zane interacts with. You get this incredible sense of community and history and the importance of

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family through Miss Trissy and Tru and Malvina, None of them have easy stories, or lives without struggle, but they are an amazing example of endurance in a hard life -- and I love the beautiful moments that they have too -- Miss Trissy singing in church, Tru playing in the Processions, Malvina cracking endless jokes and dancing in the second line. Vivid, lovely and caring.

Now, the hard stuff, because oh yeah, this is a hard read --the description of storm and the floodwaters rising, snakes in the water, the lack of help on the ground, the terrifying armed response of the white police trying to prevent people coming into safe neighborhoods, the floating bodies and the filth and smell at the superdome. Gun violence, violence against pets, frightening experiences with a drug dealer -- there's a lot in here. In part, that's what makes it such a great read, but as an adult it just makes the horror of how badly the US failed New Orleans the more heartbreaking.

I've seen the reviews that are frustrated with the swift wrap-up/ending, but I think weirder things happen in the unreality of disaster, and given how the story was going, it worked ok for me.

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