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kpress's review
4.0
I’ve had this book on my shelf for awhile so I decided to pick it up. It was suspenseful and very interesting. It was quick because of the short length but I felt the soul in this story. I would suggest this book to my students and read another novel by Rhodes.
heat_her's review
4.0
Ashley (my 11-year-old daughter) and I read this together, and we both loved it. Ninth Ward is a wonderful, magical story about the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina, written from the perspective of 12-year-old Lanesha, a girl who lives in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans with her eccentric and lovable caretaker, Mama Ya-Ya. Because it’s written for children, it doesn’t go into the horrific particulars of the aftermath of the storm, but it gave Ashley a good idea of what it must have been like for kids her age to experience something like that. Ashley was too young in 2005 to have any real knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the hurricane, but Ninth Ward gave her enough information to ask questions about the finer details. Needless to say, we had a long conversation after finishing the book.
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claudiaswisher's review
5.0
I loved Rhodes's assertion that she had to write a lot for adults before she took the risk of writing for youngsters. I think too often adult writers are trying to make a fast buck on young readers and they don't truly respect their audience.
Rhodes has invented a beautiful strong girl in Lanesha...born in a caul, able to see ghosts, and shunned by many because of her individuality. Raised by Mama Ya Ya, not even a blood relative, Lanesha finds a way to survive not only the Hurricane Katrina storm, but the horrifying flooding after the storm.
This book is at points funny, frightening, and uplifting. It is unutterably sad as we watch Lanesha lose more and more of her life. The use of present tense verbs throughout adds to the horror, in my mind. We KNOW what's going to happen. We know the storm is not the worst of the devestation...so we know she's not safe. Her beloved Mama Ya Ya, who has the sight, knows, but cannot tell Lanesha without breaking the child's spirit, a spirit she's cultivated from her birth.
I have loved everything I have read by Jewell Parker Rhodes, this book included. This little gem is a new favorite.
Rhodes has invented a beautiful strong girl in Lanesha...born in a caul, able to see ghosts, and shunned by many because of her individuality. Raised by Mama Ya Ya, not even a blood relative, Lanesha finds a way to survive not only the Hurricane Katrina storm, but the horrifying flooding after the storm.
This book is at points funny, frightening, and uplifting. It is unutterably sad as we watch Lanesha lose more and more of her life. The use of present tense verbs throughout adds to the horror, in my mind. We KNOW what's going to happen. We know the storm is not the worst of the devestation...so we know she's not safe. Her beloved Mama Ya Ya, who has the sight, knows, but cannot tell Lanesha without breaking the child's spirit, a spirit she's cultivated from her birth.
I have loved everything I have read by Jewell Parker Rhodes, this book included. This little gem is a new favorite.
queerbillydeluxe's review
5.0
I loved this book. Hands down. Brilliant story telling, and absolutely wonderful job doing it from the perspective of a 12 year old. This is the perfect novel for kids who may be too young to remember Katrina and the devastation, but anyone can and will enjoy it. I'm looking forward to checking out some of her adult fiction!
nshemezis's review
4.0
This was super sad but a very well written story! i have no idea what i would do if i were in a hurricane!
kdekoster's review
3.0
Recap:
With Hurricane Katrina on its way, twelve-year-old Lanesha is all alone with Mama Ya Ya. Well, all alone unless you count the ghost of her Momma and a dog named Spot for company. Goodness knows her uptown family - her blood relatives - sure aren't going to do anything to help her.
And Mama Ya Ya was right when she foresaw that the storm wouldn't be the worst of their troubles. Lanesha's real work would be surviving what came after.
Review:
Ninth Ward may be told through the voice of a child, but there is absolutely nothing childish about this story. Giving a warm, love-filled glimpse into what life was like in the Ninth Ward, prior to Hurricane Katrina, Jewell Parker Rhodes eases her readers into Lanesha's tale.
In the person of Lanesha, Rhodes crafted a character that I hope students will look up to - socially on the fringe because of her ability to see ghosts, Lanesha wastes no time pitying herself because she isn't popular. Instead, she works her tail off in school, befriends the friendless, and lavishes love on those who do love her. Mama Ya Ya, the woman who raised her, taught her to love herself and that's exactly what she does.
"At lunch, I eat my tuna sandwich and apple juice at my table. I call it "my table," 'cause no one else will sit with me. But, unlike TaShon, I don't try to be invisible. I sit right in the middle of the cafeteria. I'm not ashamed of me."
Much of Ninth Ward gives an inside look into what life was like for residents of New Orleans' Ninth Ward in the days leading up to, and after, one of our country's most notorious hurricanes. Many people there, like Mama Ya Ya, were too poor to own a car or too old to leave on their own two feet, so they were forced to stay in their homes for the duration. The flooding that followed was perhaps more terrifying than the storm itself - a disaster that Lanesha simply and powerfully illustrates.
It bears mentioning that Ninth Ward is also a ghost story. Lanesha can see spirits and Mama Ya Ya has an uncanny ability to interpret dreams and foretell future events - an ability that saves more than one life in this story.
Recommendation:
A gem of a middle grade novel, and one that will surely resonate with older readers as well, Ninth Ward deserves a spot on your reading list. This is another novel that I would have loved to have taught with my sixth graders. And if YOU are interested in teaching this novel with your own students, check out the wealth of teaching tools and other related resources on Jewell Parker Rhodes' site.
PS: Did any of you catch the Teach for America shout out in the first couple of chapters?! Love it.
PPS: AD: After the Deluge (a graphic novel) and Hurricane Song (a YA novel) are two other great texts if you're planning a unit on Hurricane Katrina.
With Hurricane Katrina on its way, twelve-year-old Lanesha is all alone with Mama Ya Ya. Well, all alone unless you count the ghost of her Momma and a dog named Spot for company. Goodness knows her uptown family - her blood relatives - sure aren't going to do anything to help her.
And Mama Ya Ya was right when she foresaw that the storm wouldn't be the worst of their troubles. Lanesha's real work would be surviving what came after.
Review:
Ninth Ward may be told through the voice of a child, but there is absolutely nothing childish about this story. Giving a warm, love-filled glimpse into what life was like in the Ninth Ward, prior to Hurricane Katrina, Jewell Parker Rhodes eases her readers into Lanesha's tale.
In the person of Lanesha, Rhodes crafted a character that I hope students will look up to - socially on the fringe because of her ability to see ghosts, Lanesha wastes no time pitying herself because she isn't popular. Instead, she works her tail off in school, befriends the friendless, and lavishes love on those who do love her. Mama Ya Ya, the woman who raised her, taught her to love herself and that's exactly what she does.
"At lunch, I eat my tuna sandwich and apple juice at my table. I call it "my table," 'cause no one else will sit with me. But, unlike TaShon, I don't try to be invisible. I sit right in the middle of the cafeteria. I'm not ashamed of me."
Much of Ninth Ward gives an inside look into what life was like for residents of New Orleans' Ninth Ward in the days leading up to, and after, one of our country's most notorious hurricanes. Many people there, like Mama Ya Ya, were too poor to own a car or too old to leave on their own two feet, so they were forced to stay in their homes for the duration. The flooding that followed was perhaps more terrifying than the storm itself - a disaster that Lanesha simply and powerfully illustrates.
It bears mentioning that Ninth Ward is also a ghost story. Lanesha can see spirits and Mama Ya Ya has an uncanny ability to interpret dreams and foretell future events - an ability that saves more than one life in this story.
Recommendation:
A gem of a middle grade novel, and one that will surely resonate with older readers as well, Ninth Ward deserves a spot on your reading list. This is another novel that I would have loved to have taught with my sixth graders. And if YOU are interested in teaching this novel with your own students, check out the wealth of teaching tools and other related resources on Jewell Parker Rhodes' site.
PS: Did any of you catch the Teach for America shout out in the first couple of chapters?! Love it.
PPS: AD: After the Deluge (a graphic novel) and Hurricane Song (a YA novel) are two other great texts if you're planning a unit on Hurricane Katrina.
siennablakely's review
4.0
Ninth Ward follows Lanesha, a young girl who lives in the Ninth Ward with Mama Ya-Ya, her caretaker. When Mama Ya-Ya's visions are known to predict the future, and when they begin to show a hurricane coming, they both have to do what it takes to survive. Ninth Ward details the events that happened during Hurricane Katrina from Lanesha's perspective and shows the strength of the community during hardships. Ninth Ward follows Lanesha, Mama Ya-Ya, TaShon, and their journey to survive the hurricane. It is a story of not only survival but the strength that it takes to keep moving forward in the face of disaster. Ninth Ward also gives a new meaning to the found family tropes that are seen in children’s novels and in this, it helps make the story much more complex.
Personally, I enjoyed reading this book. I thought that the symbolism for the butterfly and magnolias were well executed throughout the novel. Lanesha's character development was another aspect that I liked reading. She goes from a young girl who doubts herself and she doesn't have many friends, but that changes throughout the story. While I do wish that we could have found out what had happened after the book, I still thought it was a great read.
Personally, I enjoyed reading this book. I thought that the symbolism for the butterfly and magnolias were well executed throughout the novel. Lanesha's character development was another aspect that I liked reading. She goes from a young girl who doubts herself and she doesn't have many friends, but that changes throughout the story. While I do wish that we could have found out what had happened after the book, I still thought it was a great read.
stanleysbird's review
"I've been born to a new life, I don't know what's going to happen to me."
Read for Introduction To Fiction
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