Lanesha is a twelve-year-old girl who lives in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans in the time right before Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast. Lanesha has been raised by a grandmotherly person she calls Mama Ya-Ya. Lanesha's mother died giving birth to her. Mama Ya-Ya was the mid-wife who delivered Lanesha. Because Lanesha's mother's rich family would have nothing to do with her, Mama Ya-Ya gave Lanesha a loving, caring home. Both Mama Ya-Ya and Lanesha have special "gifts." Mama Ya-Ya can see bits and pieces of the future and Lanesha can see ghosts all around her, even her mother's ghost. Anticipation grows as the days before Katrina hit. Mama Ya-Ya knows a big storm is coming and something bad is going to happen because of it. Neither Mama Ya-Ya's insight nor Lanesha's conversations with the ghosts around her can help them understand the great flood that is coming to New Orleans. This story depicts the love a young girl feels for the lady who raised her and the love she has for the mother she never knew. At first Lanesha is just trying to survive being a twelve-year-old girl who everybody has labeled as a misfit. As the story progresses she has to survive a great storm and all the death that surrounds her--the death of loved ones and the death of her beloved neighborhood.
There are so many things I liked about this book. I liked the supernatural events depicted in the book such as seeing into the future and Lanesha being able to see ghosts all around her. As the storm approaches, ghosts from several points in time start filling the streets of New Orleans. However, these supernatural events do not take over the storyline. I also like that Lanesha is a very ambitious girl. She's not just a plain twelve-year-old girl, but she's a girl who loves Shakespeare, is obsessed with words and what they mean, and she is a girl who loves math. After seeing a picture of the Golden Gate bridge, she decides she wants to be an engineer. Very few books depict girls with a love for math, and very few depict girls who want to be an engineer. Several novels depict girls as wanting to be nurses or teachers when the grow up, not engineers. Another thing I liked about this book is the love between Mama Ya-Ya and Lanesha. They are not tied by blood, but they love each other like they are family.
My reaction from reading this book probably comes from the memories I have of watching coverage of Hurricane Katrina. I can remember seeing video of people stranded on rooftops waiting to be rescued. I watched as the flood levels got higher and higher and I also remember the chaos that happened inside the Superdome. This book describes the different cultures of people who lived in the Ninth Ward and the destruction that Hurricane Katrina unleashed there.
Although Rhodes has written adult novels, this is the first novel that she has written for young adult readers. I look forward to any future young adult novels she writes.
From this book I learned that children's literature can accurately depict the anxiety and anticipation that is felt before a life changing event occurs. The author builds the story with unexplainable dreams that Mama Ya-Ya cannot understand. She knows the storm is coming, but it's not the storm that will bring the destruction, it's the flooding when the levees break. Also, Lanesha sees her mother daily, but does not converse with her until Mama Ya-Ya asks her to. The confusion and anticipation of what is about to come overshadows everything else. The question of "How bad will it be?" lingers as the characters try to prepare for the inevitable.
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