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A review by joyful24
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
3.0
for some reason i thought this book would be a combination of [b:Voodoo Season|231805|Voodoo Season|Jewell Parker Rhodes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402281326s/231805.jpg|14437128] and [book:The Big Mama Stories|1558133. i seriously enjoyed reading the first book. it was almost as amazing my first actual visit to new orleans. since this is young adult fiction told from a preteen heroine birthed in the heart of the n.o. second most notorious neighborhood (after the french quarter) i figured it would have the sassy tone of the big mama stories. in a way i was correct. in a way i was wrong.
i think this book would fit well with 3rd/4th grade students. it is an excellent tool for teaching vocabulary. there are some great words woven into the tale with actual definitions and examples. it had an adolescent tone to the narrative they would appreciate. the action was swift and to the point. it was a little predictable; but that came from my own awareness about hurricane katrina.a child probably will not have the same level of memory about the event. unless they personally experienced the catastrophic natural disaster they would be spared some of the harsh reality. those of us who had cnn or wrote scholarly articles about the event are not as innocent in that regard.
i read a few chapters and stepped away from the book for a few days. i finished the rest of the story in one night. it was engaging despite the constant telling instead of showing how the story unfolds. a fair skinned child with light eyes born in a caul who sees ghosts and lives with an older woman versed in reading signs is as supernatural as it gets. the development of otherworldiness was weak until the plot climax. i got a good sense of the neighborhood. the pastel row houses, overly friendly people, and delicious food were just as i experienced it. there were lots of loose ends. i suppose its par for the course because the hurricane surely left thousands of people feeling the same way.
i think this book would fit well with 3rd/4th grade students. it is an excellent tool for teaching vocabulary. there are some great words woven into the tale with actual definitions and examples. it had an adolescent tone to the narrative they would appreciate. the action was swift and to the point. it was a little predictable; but that came from my own awareness about hurricane katrina.a child probably will not have the same level of memory about the event. unless they personally experienced the catastrophic natural disaster they would be spared some of the harsh reality. those of us who had cnn or wrote scholarly articles about the event are not as innocent in that regard.
i read a few chapters and stepped away from the book for a few days. i finished the rest of the story in one night. it was engaging despite the constant telling instead of showing how the story unfolds. a fair skinned child with light eyes born in a caul who sees ghosts and lives with an older woman versed in reading signs is as supernatural as it gets. the development of otherworldiness was weak until the plot climax. i got a good sense of the neighborhood. the pastel row houses, overly friendly people, and delicious food were just as i experienced it. there were lots of loose ends. i suppose its par for the course because the hurricane surely left thousands of people feeling the same way.