Quoted: Ninth Ward

"TaShon, his arms spread wide, twirls like an airplane. Spot barks and chases his tail. I lift the hose high; water falls like a soft summer shower.

"There is sweetness to this day.

"I thought this day was going to be ordinary. but it was full of surprises: Andrew, TaShon and Spot, and Miss Johnson saying I could be an engineer."

That's 12-year-old Lanesha talking. She lives with her surrogate grandmother, Mama Ya-Ya, in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. In the above passage, she is describing a day just before Hurricane Katrina hits.

Jewell Parker Rhodes' middle-grade novel, Ninth Ward, is a story of strength and survival. Don't miss this book.

Reviews at Charlotte's Library and The Happy Nappy Bookseller.

Rhodes, Jewell Parker. Ninth Ward. Little, Brown and Company, 2010.

Comments

[Charlotte]

It's truly a lovely book.

[jules]

I wanna read this one so badly!

[Susan (Chicken Spaghetti)]

Jules, I'll send it to you, if you'd like!