his is a book regarding four close friends and the impact of Hurricane Katrina had on their lives and those in the neighborhood.

The facts regarding the hurricane were portrayed in a way that does not scare the reader, but does outline the way in which this major event forever impacted those who went through it.

There are stories of those who were able to leave, and then those who stayed.

There were references of lives lost, and numbers and writing on the houses of those who didn't make it through. ( )

Adrienne, Keesha, Michael, and Tommy are four friends living in New Orleans during the time when hurricane Katrina hit the city. They all give there own perspective on how life was before, during, and after the storm. They were only kids at the time and were confused how one day the sky could be so clear like nothing will happen. Then within hours a natural disaster could come and tear everything apart like friendships, families and home. They played together almost everyday but when the storm hit they all had to go separate ways to prepare for the storm. They hated what the storm had done to their neighborhood and thought they would never get to see each other again. But their families decided to come back and fix up the street they lived on and the kids were able to see each other and play again.
I can definitely relate to this I remember I just started school and made new friends when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Me and my family had to relocate but we didn’t come back until a few years later. ( )

This was such a great read! Being from the New Orleans area and going through Katrina as a kid, I was able to relate to these kids so much. Before Katrina, life was so simple, and they were able to play with their friends, then, one day they couldn't play anymore and had to part their ways. After the storm, they all came back to their neighborhood and were able to play again. I related to this story because it was the same thing with me. ( )

I thought of this book to be a very good one. Although, one thing made me automatically know that the author was not from New Orleans. The moment she said jambalaya and corn bread, I knew. Although everything else about the book was really nice. I absolutely love the illustrations. The illustrator definitely did a great job with the visuals. I really liked the illustrations from inside the pot as Keesha's mother cooked. I also enjoyed seeing Tommy's horn throughout the book, though the never mentioned it. I even enjoyed seeing the band playing and not being mentioned. Secondline music is known in New Orleans, so it had to be incorporated in some way. ( )

The story of a community bond and its culture that couldn't be taking away by Hurricane Katrina. A story of four friends Adrienne, Keesha, Michael, and Tommy, all grew up on the same street of New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina happen, each has their own story of survivor and how they cope with the lost of their city. Like Tommy, my family and I evacuated to Houston before the storm. Adrienne also left the city to Baton Rouge. Michael and Keesha stayed back like many people did at the time.Their experiences are familiar to most of us here in New Orleans. We all can relate to their stories one way or another. Similar to Tommy, I can remember the time it took us over ten hours to get to Houston. Stuck in the crazy traffic with the car barely moving at every hour was torturous. And once we realizes that our home and everything we had is gone was heartbreaking. I love that at the end of the book, all four kids were able to reunite and back to the city. They celebrate the uniqueness of the city that can not be found anywhere else. "We're going to the French Quarter, eat a snowball and some beignets. We're going to listen to the street bands playin' on the corner." Reading a book like this help me appreciates my city, its people, and the history even more. ( )