ZANE AND THE HURRICANE by Rodman Philbrick (Adult & Young Reader review included)

I am now in a book club! Ok, so it’s a book club consisting of myself and one other person, but I’m still excited.  I’ll tell you why.  This other person is my 10 year old son!

He has a plan to read a lot of books this year in school.  The idea and want was there, but the motivation was not.  He knew he had to read most nights, but wasn’t too excited by the idea.  That’s when I came up with our Mother-Son Book Club.  I would read the books he chose for school at the same time that he was.  That way we could talk about them and give our opinions throughout the book and at the end.  He thought this was a great idea, and took off running, or in this case, reading.  He’s been reading so much, it’s been hard to keep up. 

Our first book of this school year was…

ZANE AND THE HURRICANE by Rodman Philbrick

“A Story of Katrina”

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Newbery Honor author Rodman Philbrick presents a gripping yet poignant novel about a 12-year-old boy and his dog who become trapped in New Orleans during the horrors of Hurricane Katrina.

Zane Dupree is a charismatic 12-year-old boy of mixed race visiting a relative in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hits. Unexpectedly separated from all family, Zane and his dog experience the terror of Katrina's wind, rain, and horrific flooding. Facing death, they are rescued from an attic air vent by a kind, elderly musician and a scrappy young girl--both African American. The chaos that ensues as storm water drowns the city, shelter and food vanish, and police contribute to a dangerous, frightening atmosphere, creates a page-turning tale that completely engrosses the reader. Based on the facts of the worst hurricane disaster in U.S. history, Philbrick includes the lawlessness and lack of government support during the disaster as well as the generosity and courage of those who risked their lives and safety to help others. Here is an unforgettable novel of heroism in the face of truly challenging circumstances.

MY REVIEW

3 out of 5 *Stars*

“So that was when I started to really get it, how one bad thing can lead to another. The first bad thing might be, say, a hurricane, and it crashes into the world and starts other bad things happening, like the power going out, and trees crushing houses, and then the levees fail and the water rises and suddenly a million other things are going bad all at once, and some people are suffering, and some are dying, and some are helping, and others are acting wicked superior...”

My son and I had different opinions about this book; what we liked and what we didn’t.  Which is completely understandable considering Katrina hit a year before he was born.  Before he started reading, I went online and showed him pictures of the storm and its aftermath just so he would understand the significance behind the book. 

I thought the concept was there for the book and that it was a good idea.  Hurricane Katrina was an event that will forever be etched in people’s minds, whether they were there or not.  This story depicts a young man’s survival, through the storm and the devastation that immediately followed.  It goes into detail about what it was like when the storm hit, the rising waters, and the death and disease that overcame the city of New Orleans.  It even showed the characters’ hope and later disappointment in response to the “safe place” that wasn’t so safe, the Superdome. 

The characters we easy to follow, and had personalities that jumped off the page.  I even enjoyed Malvina’s nervous sense of humor and the “dumb” jokes she would tell to make someone smile.  A few I have even found myself telling to other people. 

“What the judge say when a skunk walk into the court house? Odor in the court!”

“Why the tomato turn red? It saw the salad dressing!”

It brought an air of lightness to an otherwise heavy subject.

Here’s the problem… I felt the trouble with the drug dealer was an added conflict that didn’t really need to be there.  There was already so much going on, with everything happening to the city and it’s inhabitants. Oh, and I don’t know… Trying to survive!  When the man came into the picture the book stopped being about surviving Katrina and the storyline felt like it went off course. 

Then there was the ending…  Here’s this whole book about struggling and overcoming every obstacle thrown their way but then the ending coasted into smooth sailing territory. It was too unrealistic to fit the book and had me shaking my head in confusion. 

I finished the book with a shrug and a ready to move on attitude.  This wasn’t a book that stayed with me after it was over, which is sad because it was about a very intense topic.

My son’s take on the book…

****************Young Reader Story Review****************

He wishes that it could have touched more on other topics that were otherwise left up in the air, maybe his mother’s struggle to get to her son or even more on what happened to Miss Trissy, after she was separated from Zane.  He disagreed with me on the topic of the drug dealer.  It was an added conflict that kept him on the edge of his seat, more so than the storm’s aftermath. However, he wished that there would have been more scenes involving the drug dealer or at least a resolved ending between Malvina and him.  He wishes that the book would have been a little longer, enough to resolve a lot of the loose ends that were left throughout the book, and also agreed that the ending was off, however he was ready to be done with the book enough that he didn’t care. 

***********************************************************************

Overall, I thought it was a cute book.  The cover is catchy and a few pages throughout the book are stained to look as if the book itself was wet.  All things that are definitely appealing to a young reader.  I don’t see it as being a “must-read,” but it is a quick read that will entertain you.

Until next time…

Happy Reading, Everyone!