Saturday, March 12, 2016

Patrick, Denise Lewis. Finding Someplace.

Patrick, Denise Lewis.  Finding Someplace.  Macmillan/Henry Holt  2015  214p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-8050-4716-5      ms      Historical fiction      E-BN

Reesie Boone has big plans for her thirteenth birthday.  There has been some talk of a hurricane, but people in the Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans dismiss it.  Then reality sets in, and Reesie takes refuge with her elderly neighbor, Miss Martine.  Another neighbor, Andre, joins them because he can’t find his family.  As the water rises, they retreat to the attic, then the roof.  They are rescued by boat and are taken to the Superdome.  Miss Martine is taken to a hospital.  Finally Reesie is reunited with her father, a New Orleans policeman. 

Reesie’s mother blames her father for not heeding the rumblings and leaving the city in time.  Dad will not leave his job, and mother will not come back to New Orleans.  She takes Reesie to New Jersey to relatives, where Reesie has trouble adjusting.  Dad comes to visit at Christmas and Mom makes plans to visit at spring break.

Reesie gets to visit Miss Martine and is crushed to see her house empty of everything.  But she discovers that in finding her Someplace, it isn’t a place but the people who love her.

This is a story about families under pressure but enduring because of their love of people and place.  It shows that the road to recovery, for both people and property, is a long winding road.  A great addition to other stories about Hurricane Katrina.   

Summary: Hurricane Katrina ruins Reesie’s plans for her thirteenth birthday.  This is a story of love and survival under terrible circumstances.  Everyone must find Someplace where they belong.  Middle school readers will love it.    


Hurricane Katrina-Fiction                                   --Joan Theal

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