The YA Book Log

HURRICANE SONG by Paul Volponi

August, 2005, darkness, hunger, and heat spread through the Superdome in New Orleans. It is the horror of Hurricane Katrina, and Miles Shaw with his musician father and uncle are forced to take refuge in the Dome, the safest place in town. This is the setting for HURRICANE SONG by Paul Volponi.
Miles, a high school sophomore, moved in with Dad after his Mom remarried. Dad is a trumpet player and music is the man’s life, while Miles’ passion is football, not exactly common ground for a relationship for two people who have not spent much time together. When the evacuation plans for leaving town are changed, the opportunity to see the Superdome, where the city football championship is played, does not look so bad.
Entering the Superdome is the beginning of a nightmare which lasts for two days. Football in hand Miles tries to make the best of the situation only to have his football stolen, and this is the good news. Lack of food, too few bathrooms, story-hungry television reporters, by-the-book military police, death by suicide, marauding bands of young men, raping, stealing, and extorting the homeless and an unforgiving storm are reported in this hour-by-hour account. How do father and son connect after so much time apart? For Paul Volponi it is the music of New Orleans and he punctuates his message with verses from the song, “When the Saints go Marching In”, as his chapter headings. .
HURRICANE SONG may turn out to be the most powerful fictional account of the tragedy known as Katrina, and it is written for teens. This is a story sure to win awards, a must read and it is only 136 pages long.
I RECOMMEND THIS TITLES FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GRADES 10-12, ESPECIALLY THE GUYS.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
East Meadow Public Library