Hurricane Song [Mass Market Paperback]

Paul Volponi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 2009

When Miles?s mother remarries, Miles decides to move to New Orleans to be with his father. But he and his father are very different?Miles?s dad lives for jazz, while Miles?s first love is football. Then Hurricane Katrina hits, and the two must seek refuge in the Superdome. What would normally be a dream come true for a football fan, this safe haven turns into a nightmare when the power fails and gangs take over. And when his father decides to rebel, Miles must make a choice that will alter their relationship? and their lives?forever.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up—Set in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, Paul Volponi's novel (Viking, 2008) provides a graphic description of the horrors that ensued during the evacuation and for those who took shelter in the Superdome—no electricity or running water, and groups of thugs competing for turf. Sixteen-year-old Miles and his musician father and uncle seek shelter in the Superdome after their car overheats during their evacuation. Miles and his dad have only been living together for a couple of months and are still trying to reach common ground between his father's love of music and the teen's love of football. It is music, however, that is the catalyst that brings the two together after Miles's father rebels against the rules set by the Superdome's weekend soldiers. Jacob C. Norman does a good job of voicing Miles and his father, but does not clearly differentiate between the other characters. Their eventual journey to Seattle and return to New Orleans is related in an epilogue. Versions of "When the Saints Go Marching In," sung by Norman slightly off key, opens every chapter. Jazz riffs play at the opening and closing credits. An additional purchase.—Suanne Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In the wake of his mom’s remarriage, Miles moves to New Orleans to be with his father, a professional musician, who lives and breathes jazz. Miles, who has always resented his father’s single-minded devotion to music, focuses on making his new school’s varsity football team and dreams of someday playing a championship game in the Superdome. That dream becomes a nightmare when Miles, Pop and his uncle Roy must seek refuge there from the advancing storm that will become Hurricane Katrina. Volponi pulls no punches in his visceral depiction of the horrors that New Orleans’ black residents experienced in a place that became, he suggests, an appalling combination of homeless shelter, war zone, and slave ship. The effect of this experience on Miles’ troubled relationship with his father seems a bit programmatic, and an epilogue feels tacked on to bring closure. Yet Volponi’s passionate outrage is palpable, and his infectious indignation will surely invite much reflection and discussion. Grades 7-12. --Michael Cart --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (June 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142414182
• ISBN-13: 978-0142414187
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #823,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chilling novel about a horrible chapter in our history, August 13, 2008

By 

YA Librarian "http://yabookmarks.blogspot.com/" (Always Cloudy Upstate NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hurricane Song (Hardcover)

Once again Mr. Volponi creates a fast paced story that will engage readers.

Miles cannot stand living with his mother and his new stepfather. The apartment is too cramped, there are too many kids, and Miles has to escape. His mother finally allows him to move in with his father, a man he hasn't seen for most of his life. Miles is only in New Orleans for a few days when Hurricane Katrina hits.

The reader is given a vivid and often painful narrative of what life was like in the Superdome. We see these events through Miles' eyes. He is a frightened, confused young man who struggles to understand the inhumanity that is taking place around him. As always, Mr. Volponi does not shrink away from uncomfortable situations and paints a very realistic vision of what happened during those horrible days inside and outside the Superdome.

This is a very powerful book about a sad chapter in our country's history.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drops you into the eye of the storm, August 12, 2008

By 

greg "Storyteller" (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hurricane Song (Hardcover)

Hurricane Song vividly drops you in the eye of the chaos that followed-- the nightmarish days and nights we all heard about inside the Superdome.
17-year-old Miles is sent to live with his Jazz musician father in N.O. He has been estranged from his father for most of his life but Miles is yearning to connect with the old man. Unfortunately, Katrina bears down on them a few days after he gets there and they find themselves stranded trying to escape the city. They end up at the Superdome and what follows is all the more harrowing because we know it's based on facts. Volponi puts you right into the stiffling heat and Lord of the Flies madness that took over the city. Like New Orleans, their relationship is severely tested, falls apart but somehow rises from the ashes like the music that beats in the heart of the city. This is a vivid, compelling read, ripe for any teen, but especially for boys. A must read and a true experience that needs to be remembered. Check it out!

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful and realistic YA novel about Hurricane Katrina, September 22, 2011

By 

Milw. Writer (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hurricane Song (Hardcover)

Another extraordinary book by "The King of YA Urban Fiction!" This powerful novel chronicles the experience of Miles, his pop, and uncle at the Superdome in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. At times heart-wrenching, shocking, and inspiring - HURRICANE SONG won't let us - nor should we - forget what our brothers and sisters went through to survive this natural disaster.