Twelve-year old Lanesha lives in New Orleans Ninth Ward with Mama Ya-Ya, who birthed Lanesha and has been been her mother-grandmother since Lanesha's own mother died during childbirth. Mama Ya-Ya and the other families in her Ninth Ward community is all Lanesha knows. She has family in Uptown, but they are scared of Lanesha because she can see and communicate with ghosts. Mama Ya-Ya is able to see the future, and it is through her visions she learns that Hurricane Katrina is on the way. The hurricane passes and Mama Ya-Ya and Lanesha survive. The flooding that follows presents a different struggle.
The author presents a believable story showing the power of family and determination. Some readers will be able to relate to Lanesha's family experience and maybe not having many friends, but having a few good one. Readers will also feeling all the love that Mama Ya-Ya showers on Lanesha. Many readers will have some familiarity with Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath as told by the media. However this story presents a fictionalized account told from the perspective of children and adults that lived in the community. The pace of the story keeps readers engaged, knowing the hurricane is coming and the devastation that it will cause, and wishing Lanesha and her mother-grandmother well. The characters are well-developed and the setting is described in a manner that makes the reader feel a part of the story.
I would recommend Ninth Ward to readers that enjoy family, survival, and ghost stories. This book may also be of interest to youth that are interested in hurricane and tornadoes and could be paired with non-fiction materials on the subject. I believe this book would be most appropriate for readers in grades 5-8 due to vocabulary and content.
For use in a library setting, Ninth Ward could be used in displays about hurricanes, supernatural, family, friendship, and survival. It would also make a good read-aloud and as a choice for a book club discussion.
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