Review by New York Times Review
MOST OF RODMAN PHILBRICK'S new middle-grade novel, "Zane and the Hurricane," is set in a battered green canoe floating on the oily sea that covered New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The story is narrated by Zane Dupree, a mixed-race 12-year-old boy living contentedly in New Hampshire until his mother's fateful discovery of the sole living relative on his father's side, Miss Trissy. Zane's father died before he was born. "Some old gumby had a stroke and ran him over," he explains. The father was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The same can be said of the son, it would seem, when he is sent to New Orleans in fate August 2005, along with his dog, Bandy. Besides being a dog so good that he makes Lassie look like a canine juvenile delinquent, Bandy is also Zane's doppelgänger: "Bandy is a mutt like me" serves as this book's "Call me Ishmael." Miss Trissy, leaning on two canes, meets him at the airport. "She's so wicked old and the canes look like weapons," Zane observes. With the word "wicked," we bid New Hampshire adieu. From here on, we are in the vernacular world of Miss Trissy, who greets Zane with the following: "Seems I been waiting all my life to meet you, though I didn't know you existed, or what yo name might be. The Good Lawd has given me a great gift. Thank you Lawd! Praise be!" Zane hardly has time to get to know Miss Trissy, and get the faintest sense of life in the Lower Ninth Ward, before the storm approaches. There is an evacuation, a crowded church van and a traffic jam. Bandy, in an act of brave foolishness that foreshadows a later act of foolish bravery, jumps out the van window. Zane chases him all the way back to Miss Trissy's porch. Together they weather the hurricane, barely. When rising waters threaten to drown them in a stifling-hot attic, Zane manages to break through the slats of an air vent before passing out. "Hey, you stupid or what? Wasn't for this little dog nobody know you in there." With this Zane is returned to consciousness and introduced to Malvina Rawlins, a skinny, wild-haired African-American girl standing in an old canoe. Behind her sits an elderly gentleman in a crumpled straw top hat. He is Trudell Manning, a musician of local renown, who has been looking after Malvina while her mother is in rehab. He will be the children's guide and protector on their journey, until it is the children's turn to protect him. Malvina, a firecracker, copes with her problems - currently represented by the apocalyptic flood, previously by her drug-addicted mother - by telling jokes in rapid succession. "What the judge say when a skunk walk into the courthouse? Odor in the court! What you call a pig that does karate? A pork chop!" Malvina is the Henny Youngman of the Lower Ninth. The myriad horrors of Katrina, large and small, are cataloged in detail: masses of snakes writhing in the water; enormous steel ships sitting on top of squashed houses; opportunistic criminals; and armed and aggressive security teams protecting the property of the rich. The novel's plot unfolds with the detailed precision of scrimshaw. I admire Philbrick for getting Malvina and Trudell on the page, but there is something a bit studied about his display of the Louisianians' slang and gumption. As for Zane, whatever antic wit or mischief he may have once possessed seems to have been left behind in New Hampshire. Perhaps it's a question of translation. Zane is not really speaking his own language. The vernacular and history are technically correct. But it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. Still, for a young reader who knows nothing of the Katrina debacle, Philbrick does convey much information about New Orleans while the plot chugs along, and even a bit of the city's essence. "Didn't know who it was until I recognized that crazy hat of yours," someone says to Trudell toward the end of the book, when he is in bad shape. "This my lucky hat," he says. "Lucky? Are you serious?" "I'm still here, ain't I?" THOMAS BELLER'S books include "Seduction Theory: Stories" and "The Sleep-Over Artist," a novel. His biography of J.D. Salinger will be published in June. He teaches at Tulane University.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [February 23, 2014]
Review by Booklist Review
Thirteen-year-old Zane Dupree and his trusted dog, Bandy, travel from their home in New Hampshire to New Orleans to visit his great-grandmother, Miss Trissy, the only link to the father who died before he was born. But almost as soon as they arrive, they are caught up in the turmoil of Hurricane Katrina, separated from family, and left on their own to survive. The pair weathers the storm in Miss Trissy's attic, and they are rescued, via canoe, by Mr. Tru, a celebrated brass player, and his young charge, Malvina, with a story of her own. Together they face difficulties both natural and human, from terrifying swirls of snakes in the putrid floodwater to organized militia protecting affluent neighborhoods from looters. Philbrick examines issues of race and class with a deft hand (Zane is of mixed race himself), letting the story unfold directly and leaving moralizing to the reader. Though the convenience of a few plot points strains credibility, the tight prose, harrowing pace, and resonant relationships will appeal to a broad audience.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In August 2005, 12-year-old Zane Dupree reluctantly travels to New Orleans with his dog Bandy to visit Miss Trissy, his paternal great-grandmother. Zane is biracial and knows nothing about his late father's side of the family; he acquires some pieces of the puzzle-that his father ran away from home, and his uncle "got hissef killed"-but gaps remain. Hurricane Katrina arrives, and mandatory evacuation is announced, but on a bus out of town, Bandy escapes and Zane follows him back to Miss Trissy's house. They are rescued from the surging water and relentless heat by Malvina Rawlins, a girl Zane's age with a stream of corny jokes at her disposal, and her elderly guardian, musician Trudell Manning. Zane's first-person account is tense and authentically youthful as the group paddles through the flooded streets of New Orleans seeking refuge. Philbrick (The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg) vividly portrays the destruction and multitude of threats facing citizens stuck in the city, along with undercurrents of racial and social tension that didn't wash away with the levees. Ages 10-14. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-A boy's visit to meet his great-grandmother for the first time turns into a nightmare when Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans. Twelve-year-old Zane has not known many family members other than his mother; after she makes contact with his deceased father's grandmother, Zane travels to the oppressively humid city. When New Orleans is placed under a mandatory evacuation, Zane and his great-grandmother leave with his dog, Bandy, and her pastor; when Bandy is spooked by growling Dobermans, he leaps from the car, followed by Zane. Zane and Bandy endure the hurricane's landfall and the failure of the levees at his great-grandmother's house until they meet a young girl, Malvina, and her guardian, Tru. The trio canoes through the snake-infested waters seeking assistance. Arriving in a neighborhood protected by privately hired security forces leads to vicious threats from the armed guards, who are loading helicopters stuffed with rugs and other expensive items. After their canoe is stolen, they head to the chaos of the Superdome and eventually to a bridge connecting the city to Algiers, in which they hope to find Tru's cousin. Vivid descriptions of the toxic waters, the commotion at the Superdome, and racial tension are handled factually yet sensitively. Information about unique New Orleans customs, including "jazz funerals," its history of biracialism, and accents are occasionally inserted. The fast bond among Zane, Malvina, and Tru is believably drawn. A time line and facts about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath are included.-Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Zane Dupree and his dog, Bandit, fly from New Hampshire to New Orleans to visit his great-grandmother for the first time. Then Hurricane Katrina strikes. Zane is separated from Miss Trissy during the evacuation and trapped by the floodwaters. Philbrick's tale of survival is gripping. Timeline. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An appropriately serious and occasionally gruesome tale of surviving Hurricane Katina, buoyed by large doses of hope and humor. Twelve-year-old Zane Dupree, a New Hampshire native, is on his first visit to his newly discovered Grammy in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina forces them to evacuate. On the way out of the city, Zane's dog jumps out of the van, and Zane follows, soon finding himself back at his grandmother's house alone with the storm quickly closing in. When the winds die down, rising floodwaters force Zane into the sweltering attic, from which he is rescued by local musician Tru and his spunky charge, Malvina. The three embark on an epic adventure--skirting dead bodies and poisonous snakes in the floodwaters, making it to the Superdome only to realize there is no help to be had there, escaping a drug dealer intent on capturing Malvina and attempting to cross the guarded bridge to Algiers. Careful attention to detail in representations of the storm, the city and local dialect give this tale a realistic feel. Zane's perspective as an outsider allows Philbrick to weave in social commentary on race, class, greed and morality, offering rich fodder for reflection and discussion. This compelling story of Katrina is like the floodwaters it describes: quickly moving, sometimes treacherous and sometimes forgiving, with a lot going on beneath the surface. (Historical fiction. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
