Ninth Ward

Ninth Ward. Jewell Parker Rhodes. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2010. 219 pages. $15.99 (Hardcover). ISBN 978-0-316-04307-6. Grades 5-8.

My Thoughts…

I had stumbled across Ninth Ward last semester when I was trying to find titles that would fit a multi-cultural program designed for teenage girls. The focus of the program was to be coming of age. When I read the synopsis for the book from and OPAC it read, “story takes place in a recent natural disaster and features the growth of character with a distinct, magical culture. Although fictional, the magic possessed by this character is reminiscent of Creole and voodoo cultures.”  I thought this book would good for an audience for late middle school, early high school based on the description and reviews that I read. I found after reading, however, that while the synopsis was accurate, it wasn’t exactly what I expected. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading this book. I think the story of Katrina and its aftermath from a firsthand perspective is fascinating. I also thought that the coming of age aspect was pretty solid. I did find, however, that the cultural aspect was kind of weak. Yes, they emphasized the healing and midwifery that Mama Yaya performed and they talked about the caul and Lanesha have ‘the sight,’ but I didn’t really feel or get engrossed in the cultural aspect that I think I thought would be there. There was some talk about saints and gods, but it was more just about ghosts. It was interesting, but it wasn’t exactly what I expected. I had just learned about cauls and ‘the sight’ from Patricia McKissak’s The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tale of the Supernatural and its story “The Sight.” I was excited to see this cultural connection in more than one place and be familiar with it, so that was a plus.

I thought the organization of the book, by day, was perfect. I thought the story moved really well because Lanesha was just giving us an account of what was going on. The suspense from the dreams and the comfort/ambiguous messages from the ghosts also kept me interested and wondering what would happen next. I think my knowledge about Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaking was a good thing and a bad thing. I of course knew what the dream meant, so there was no surprise, but I also wasn’t distracted wondering what it was going to be. I think younger readers who did not see every news story about the Hurricane will be interested and surprised to read of its devastation. I also wonder, however, how those who experience Katrina would react to this book. While the damage sounded bad and Mama YaYa did die during the resulting flood, I don’t think this book gave the severity and loss of Katrina enough emphasis. Then again, I wouldn’t want to read a completely accurate account, I could just look at the news for that. I think Parker Rhodes have a perfect blend of fact and fiction in this story, and I love how Lanesha did grow up and get an inner strength and confidence. I would really love to see how this book appeals to Hurricane Katrina victims, however.