Ninth Ward
Ninth Ward
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Subjects: Survival, Family Life: Grandparents and Extended Family, Person Development: Loss, Personal Development: Self-Discovery
Grade: 3-7
Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. She doesn’t have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya’s visions show a powerful hurricane–Katrina–fast approaching, it’s up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm.
Ninth Ward is a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family–as only love can define it.
PRAISE & ACCOLADES
A 2011 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
★ “With a mix of magical and gritty realism…the spare but vivid prose, lilting dialogue, and skilled storytelling brings this tragedy to life; the powerful sense of community Rhodes evokes in the Ninth Ward prior to the storm makes the devastation and the hardships Lanesha endures all the more powerful.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Heartbreak and hope are reflected in Lanesha’s story, which will capture even reluctant readers due to the inventive storytelling and the author’s ability to bring history to life.” — School Library Journal, starred review