Ninth Ward

Written by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson

Acclaimed novelist Jewell Parker Rhodes is an American Book Award winner. Rhodes' Ninth Ward is a stunning tale set against the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. Orphaned 12-year-old Lanesha lives with Mama Ya-Ya, the midwife who birthed her, in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Although Lanesha is different-able to see ghosts like that of her dead mother-she never feels unloved, an empowerment that helps her survive the devastating storm. "If there are awards for books that celebrate the triumph of the human spirit, this one is a clear contender."-Children's Literature

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 18, 2010
• ISBN: 9781449840105

Jewell Parker Rhodes

Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes is the author of six adult novels: Voodoo Dreams, Magic City, Douglass’ Women, Season, Moon, and Hurricane, as well as the memoir Porch Stories: A Grandmother’s Guide to Happiness and two writing guides, Free within Ourselves: Fiction Lessons for Black Authors and The African American Guide to Writing and Publishing Nonfiction. Jewell is also the author of seven books for youth, including the New York Times bestsellers Ghost Boys and Black Brother, Black Brother. She has won the American Book Award, the Black Caucus of the American Library Award for Literary Excellence, and the Jane Addams Peace Association Book Award. Jewell is the founding artistic director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing and narrative studies professor and Virginia G. Piper endowed chair at Arizona State University. She was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Carnegie-Mellon University. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews for Ninth Ward

[laurensx · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Being a native New Orleanian, I deeply wanted a personal connection to the book. I wasn't disappointed, however the connection came at the very end of the book, just when all the action was coming to a close. Jewell

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I suppose it's crazy to put a hurricane Katrina story in historical fiction, but it was a profoundly devastating event, so... Anyway. This wee story of Lanesha and her Mama Ya-Ya and her neighborhood in the Ninth ward, and her ability to see spirits is enrapturing. Lanesha is so full of tough, compassionate, stubborn, life. She deals with what is handed to her, and her bright courage elevates everyone around her. Loved it.

[drfuriosa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a beautiful, wrenching book. I may have a different faith than the characters depicted, but I can appreciate the need to survive and the honor of remembering those who have died.

[sammusher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lovely, lyrical tale, as uplifting as a middle grade novel about Katrina can be. Many children in the target age group will probably be confused by the magical realism elements, though there is a friend and a dog and a wonderful grandma figure to carry them through. I might be more inclined to recommend this as an English class novel than for kids to read on their own.

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lanesha (who has "the gift" and can see ghosts) lives with Mama Ya-Ya in the poor Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Mama Ya-Ya isn't even a relative, but just an old lady who took Lanesha in after her mother died in childbirth.The story begins a few days before Hurricane Katrina hits, and continues to a couple of days afterwards, when the Ninth Ward was totally flooded. Lanesha and her new friend TaShon (who is trapped with her at the time the flooding begins) are extremely likable characters, as is Mama Ya-Ya. There isn't a significant plot line. The first third of the book is primarily getting to know the three main characters, and the last two thirds tell about the hurricane and surviving it.It gives a good picture of the hurricane and an even better picture of the flooding afterwards. Although the "seeing ghosts" element didn't detract from the book, I didn't add anything particularly either.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A heart-tugging look at life for a young girl in NOLA's Ninth Ward in the days leading up to Katrina.

[jothebookgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lanisha's teenage mother died the day her baby girl was born. The baby was born with a caul. (This is a rare occurrence; 1 in 80,000 babies are born with the amniotic fluid covering the infants face.) Her birthing woman , everyone knows as mama Ya-Ya, removed the caul and buried it except for one drop of blood. She put that into a cup of tea for Lanesha's mother hopefully to make her stronger, but still, she died. Due to the superstitious fears of being born with a caul, none of her blood kin will have anything to do with this tiny Ninth Ward orphan. Mama Ya-Ya falls in love with Lanesha and becomes Lanisha's care giver. Now it is 2005 and 12 year-old Lanesha still lives with her beloved Mama Ya-Ya, who is now a weak 82-year-old seer and no longer a midwife. They live solely on her meager social security check, but Lanesha feel she has never lacked for anything. Living in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Lanesha is viewed as an unusual child, due to the fact that she was born with a caul and she is able to see ghosts. For this reason, she is ostracized at school. Yet she likes going to school and likes her teachers. Her desire is to become an engineer and build bridges like The Golden Gate. Lanesha finds strength in Mama Ya-Ya’s constant love and axioms of affection and reassurance (“When the time’s right... the universe shines down love”). Unable to leave their home in the mandatory evacuation, they survive the hurricane. But what followed the hurricane was much worse and it happened under bright blue skies over New Orleans. The story becomes gripping as the waters rise and Lanesha, with help from a young neighbor boy and her mother’s ghostly presence, find a way to keep body and soul together. They have been forced to the roof as many other families in this poor neighborhood. The vivid prose, ethnic dialogue, and skilled storytelling brings this tragedy to life; the powerful sense of community Rhodes evokes in the Ninth Ward prior to the storm makes the devastation and the hardships Lanesha endures all the more powerful.

[lisapier · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lanesha's mom dies in child birth and she is raised by Ma Ma Yaya. This story takes place just prior to Hurrican Katrina in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. It has overtones of voodoo beliefs but displays yje amin characters survivial of not only the hurricane but her rough life. It is good text to use when teaching first person writing.

[devafagan-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantasic main character, wonderful voice!

[jennycheckers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes (2012) won the Corretta Scott King Award, and it tells the story of a young girl who endures Hurricane Katrina in one of the poorest neighborhoods in New Orleans. I would use this in a unit about weather. Also, t is such a beautiful survival story with themes of friendship and being different, that I would use it in a realistic fiction unit as well. Grades 4-6.

[akmargie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting read about Hurricane Katrina and it's impact. A well paced story with magical elements.

[vikkilaw · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow, what a beautifully written book! Wish I could write that evocatively.

[michelleannlib · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was wonderful. I have no other words to describe.

[scote23 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have been wanting to read this book for a while, since I first saw its cover on the Allen County Public Library Mock Newbery blog. I'm surprised that it isn't on more Mock lists. It wasn't quite as good as I was expecting, although I can't put my finger on exactly what is missing. It probably is the best book I've read that's been published this year, however.

[haleywhitehall · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book after it was featured on the Today Show. I wanted to see what made it special. Unfortunately, the characters and plot didn't connect with me. Lanesha is an orphan raised by Mama Ya-Ya, an 82-year-old midwife. I liked that Lanesha had second sight. The beautiful descriptions made me feel transported to the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, but the book was slow with little action. It was just too boring for me to love. The book is about Lanesha growing up and the love she shares for Mama Ya-Ya.

[cghtdh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ninth ward is so sweet and sad at the same time. She has mama yaya and thinks she is the only one who loves her . She becomes friends with Ginia and Tashon. Her parents are gone and can see her mom's ghost in mama yaya's room. When she knows a hurricane will attack she doesn't show much fear she keeps Tashon's dog Spot for a while. When the hurricane attacks Tashon goes to the Super Bowl with his parents, but got lost so he went home and there porch flew off so he stayed with Lansha she gives him some milk and they go in the basement soon mama yaya passes and the kids are left alone they get resued evently. They have a happy ending.

[mrsparker_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is a Rebecca Caudill nominee for 2013. The story follows Lanesha, a twelve-year-old girl living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Lanesha is a very special girl who can see ghosts. Lanesha's mother died when she was born, so the midwife who delivered her, Mama Ya-Ya, is raising her. Lanesha faces bullying at school and has no friends. When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, she must try to survive the horrible flood that destroys the Ninth Ward. She must also try to save Mama Ya-Ya, who becomes very ill during the hurricane.I really enjoyed this book and found the characters to be really interesting. The story was very believable, even though there were ghosts in it!Will Lanesha ever find a true friend? Will she and Mama Ya-Ya survive the hurricane and flood? Read this incredible story to find out!

[agrudzien_5 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Lanesha lives in New Orleands with her Mama Ya-Ya, her caretaker, who was also her mother's midwife. Lanesha's blood family lives on the nicer side of New Orleans, but she would much rather be with Mama Ya-Ya in the ninth ward. Both of them are speical in a way that makes other fear them: Mama Ya-Ya can predict the future and Lanesha can see ghosts. When Mama Ya-Ya predicts Hurricane Katrina, she and Lanesha get as prepared as a young girl and her elderly caretaker can get. The hurricane tests Lanesha's strength and will to survive in more ways than one. This book was a little too odd for me - I didn't enjoy the voodoo-esque under layer of the story (superstitions about child births, etc.) though it was an interesting look at how people think in a disaster situation.

[booklady123 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ninth Ward by Jewel Parker RhodesSummary from the inside left flap:  Twelve-year old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans' Ninth Ward.  She doesn't have a fancy house, like her uptown family, or lots of friends, like the other kids on her street.  But what she does have is Mamma Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future.  So when Mama Ya-Ya's visions show a powerful hurricane --- Katrina --- fast approaching, it's up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Yah has given her to help them both survive the storm.This book has been recommended for the Pikes Peak Region Battle of the Books for 2013-2014.What I liked about the book: Lanesha is a strong, likable character.  Rhodes provides colorful details about Lanesha and those around her.  The story takes place right before and just after Hurricane Katrina.  However, the story isn't so much about the devastation wrought by the hurricane but about one young girl's perseverance in the face of adversity.  This book would be an excellent tool for a unit on how people react in the wake of disaster.  It gives students the opportunity to put themselves in Lanesha's place.  The story does include some paranormal aspects - Mama Ya-ya can see into the future and Lanesha sees and talks with ghosts. However, this does not take away from the seriousness of the story, but rather adds an interesting trait to both characters.  I think it would be interesting to have students read this book and Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman and compare/contrast the stories.What I didn't like about the book:  I really liked this book. I'm hard pressed to find anything negative about it.  It is written from the point of view of a young girl which might cause some of my male students to shy away from it, but I think there is enough adventure in the story to overcome that one thing.  I read a review by another librarian who stated that Ninth Ward is one of those books that teachers and librarians love and want all their students to read, but in reality would have little appeal to students.  When I finished this book I immediately thought of a number of my students who would enjoy this book.  That might be because they are like me - LOVE books of all kinds.  Then again I might be mistaken. I will order for this for our library collection and I'm interested to see who does or doesn't check it out.Recommended for 3rd grade and up.AR Book level: 3.3Mrs. Archer's rating: 4 of 5

[smheatherly2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book started out quite interesting, and is an easier read. Lanesha is a strong character who doesn't have any friends because she is able to see ghosts, including her dead mother. When Hurricane Katrina hits, Lanesha's strength is put to the test when her world crumbles around her. The reason for only three stars, an incredibly weak ending.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lanesha's teenage mom died in childbirth, and she's been raised by Mama Ya-Ya, a midwife and predicter of the future. Lanesha has always been able to see and communicate with ghosts. Because she is different, she's never fit in with other kids at school. Things seem to be changing as she seems to be building some friendships. But a storm is coming to New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina. Mama Ya-Ya is worried about something dark after the storm. As her health deteriorates, Lanesha preps for the storm. She is a strong young woman who fights for survival when stuck in the ninth ward during the hurricane and flood. This quick read captures a bit of the New Orleans cultural and the events surrounding hurricane katrina. A mystical twist is incorporated into Lanesha's survival story.

[karenball_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I see darkness on the horizon. Rolling, rolling in like a too-warm blanket...I shiver. Tell myself not to be afraid. We'll survive the hurricane.Ghosts told me so. Lanesha is 12, and has grown up in the poor neighborhood of New Orleans' Ninth Ward. She lives with Mama YaYa, a healer and midwife who delivered Lanesha, but couldn't save her teenage mother. Lanesha's mother's "uptown family" has never wanted her, but MamaYaya has loved her as if she were her own. Lanesha has always been able to see ghosts, including her mother, who has never left Mama YaYa's house. She is also smart, and loves math and school, even though she has few friends. When Mama YaYa dreams of a storm and a blackness that follows, they are both confused, until Hurricane Katrina appears in the Gulf and advances on the city. They have no money to evacuate, and so they stay in their house, hunkered down with some basic supplies. It's up to Lanesha to use everything she has learned, from school, from Mama YaYa, and from the ghosts, in order to survive the storm and the flood that follows. Beautifully written historical fiction, with magical realism and some of the best characters around! Lanesha is one of the most courageous and resilient girls I have ever read about. 6th grade and up.

[jebass_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a beautiful story about an intelligent and sweet little girl named Lenesha, who, upon her mother's death during her birth, was taken in and raised by the local "medicine woman," if you will, Mama Ya-Ya. Mama Ya-Ya loves Lenesha as her own, and encourages Lenesha not to be ashamed of her "gifts"--seeing ghosts, predicting the future to some extent, etc. When Hurricane Katrina comes roaring through New Orleans, Mama Ya-Ya, who is very poor, has no where to go and nowhere to take Lenesha. When the hurricane is over, Mama Ya-Ya, together with the ghost of Lenesha's mother, warn Lenesha that she must get into the attic, take the food they have prepared, and tell her she must "stay strong" if she is going to live through the night and the rising flood waters. Lenesha must use every ounce of strength she can muster to save herself, her friend Tashon, and their shared dog Spot. This book would be perfect for a child who lived through Katrina, to make friends with Lenesha's character through shared experience, or for children to learn about what it was like to live through the storm.

[dayehsensei · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A poetic, mystical and suspenseful story set in New Orleans, August 2005. Rhodes' text features 12 year old Lanesha and her beloved caretaker Mama Ya-Ya and their struggles the week before Hurricane Katrina and during the storm. While the book focuses on the horror and hardship of the hurricane, Lanesha's own personal struggles are an equal focal point-- self acceptance, dreams for the future, missing her deceased mother. This story will captivate upper elementary and middle school readers everywhere. While it features fantastical elements (Lanesha and Mama Yaya can both see and communicate with ghosts; Mama Yaya can predict the future), the story is incredibly real and heart wrenching.

[jayegee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story makes a good attempt to shocase life after Katrina, the reader must remeber it is a child's point of view. The storyline is unrealistic of the nature of Katrina's sudden aftermath. It doesn't convey the pain.

[bplma_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

12 year old Lanesha lives in New Orlean's Ninth Ward. Her mother died in childbirth and she is being raised by Mama YaYA-- an 82 yr. old midwife and healer who keeps to the old ways. Lanesha is a powerful seer-- she sees ghosts everywhere-- her house, her school, her neighborhood--the other kids are afraid of her and so, always different-- Lanesha keeps to herself. When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, Lanesha needs to stay strong and focused and trust in all she has learned in order to save herself and those she loves. Beautifully written and well paced ---a coming of age story (of sorts) in the eye of Katrina. For Middle School a

[staciele · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of Lanesha and Mama Ya-Ya grabbed me right away. Of course, we all know what happens when Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, but the author still gives me new glimpses of what it must have been like for families that stayed behind to fight the storm. Her descriptions of the days after the hurricane broke my heart as Lanesha suffered through the toughest parts. I think this is a great Young Adult novel and is an excellent teaching tool of how to be strong when adversity strikes, how other cultures live and about what is really important in the end. Ghosts and seeing into the future were also a part of the story, and while I am not a believer in that, their part of the story was an interesting piece of Lanesha's life.

[amandacb_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While I enjoyed the character of Lanesha and thought it was handled appropriately, I did not enjoy all of the mysticism and ghostly aspects of the novel. I suppose that is part of the Cajun/New Orleans culture (?), but I felt it detracted from the overall experience of the novel and made parts of it unbelievable. Having the novel told from the perspective of someone so young does, of course, leave out details, probably gory ones, that occurred during Katrina--but for the audience level, I think that is appropriate.

[corydickason · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ninth Ward is a really stunning novel, encompassing only the few days before and after the storm. Children too young to remember Katrina or who have trouble understanding the gravity of the aftermath will find this young girl easy to relate to.