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A review by kdekoster
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.