Based on a true story...
This week I will be reviewing the book Zane and the Hurricane. In fourth grade, my teacher read it aloud to us and it was actually pretty good, considering it is for younger kids. I saw it at the library and thought I would read it again so I could review it and share with my readers! I chose to do Zane and the Hurricane this week because the 29th of August is the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. For those who don’t remember, Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane when it made landfall in August 2005. Thousands of people were affected, many losing their lives. Katrina caused $129 billion worth of damage to New Orleans and other cities along the Gulf of Mexico. The author of this book is Rodman Philbrick. If you are not familiar with him, he also wrote Freak the Mighty, The Fire Pony, and many others. I would rate this book 3.5 stars because I felt it wasn’t written very well. I'll give it the benefit of being a children’s book but I don’t think it met the standards of a good book, in my opinion. It was a little hard to get into but at the end it really draws you in. I would suggest this book for kids ages 9 to 11 because overall, it was a really easy read. A heads up for those who are going to read it, there is a little bit of violence and mention of drugs, guns, and sickly people. Even though this book is a work of fiction, it is based on real life, and very unfortunate events.
Zane and the Hurricane is about a 12 year old boy and his dog who are on their way to visit a long, lost grandma in New Orleans. When Zane gets into town he is disappointed. In his opinion, New Orleans is One. Big. Stinky. Dump. And he has to spend his whole summer here? With no air conditioning, no friends, and no TV? How will he live? But, as the summer goes on, he realizes that his grandma and New Orleans, aren’t so bad. That’s until they hear on the radio that a big tropical storm is rocketing towards New Orleans. Zane’s mom loses control, freaks out, and demands that Zane and his grandma get to a safe place quickly! When Zane tries to save his dog, Bandit, he finds himself stuck right in the middle of Katrina. With the help of a skinny girl with crazy hair, a man with a trumpet, and a top hat they all might just survive.
Happy Sunday!
Evelyn Harrier
Zane and the Hurricane is about a 12 year old boy and his dog who are on their way to visit a long, lost grandma in New Orleans. When Zane gets into town he is disappointed. In his opinion, New Orleans is One. Big. Stinky. Dump. And he has to spend his whole summer here? With no air conditioning, no friends, and no TV? How will he live? But, as the summer goes on, he realizes that his grandma and New Orleans, aren’t so bad. That’s until they hear on the radio that a big tropical storm is rocketing towards New Orleans. Zane’s mom loses control, freaks out, and demands that Zane and his grandma get to a safe place quickly! When Zane tries to save his dog, Bandit, he finds himself stuck right in the middle of Katrina. With the help of a skinny girl with crazy hair, a man with a trumpet, and a top hat they all might just survive.
Happy Sunday!
Evelyn Harrier
