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    Hurricane Song: A Novel of New Orleans
    Hurricane Song: A Novel of New Orleans
    Hurricane Song: A Novel of New Orleans
    Audiobook2 hours

    Hurricane Song: A Novel of New Orleans

    Written by Paul Volponi

    Narrated by Jacob C. Norman

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Hurricane Katrina is raging and you are inside the Superdome!

    Miles has only lived in New Orleans with his dad, a musician, for a few months when Hurricane Katrina hits. Father and son haven't exactly been getting along. Miles is obsessed with football; his dad's passion is jazz. But when the storm strikes, they're forced to work through their differences to survive a torturous few days in the Superdome.

    Paul Volponi, known for writing books that capture the pulse of urban life in New York City, creates a gripping hour-by-hour portrayal of what life was like for those left behind once the floodwaters began to rise.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMar 20, 2009
    ISBN9781423382225
    Hurricane Song: A Novel of New Orleans
    Author

    Paul Volponi

    Paul Volponi is a writer, journalist, and teacher living in New York City. Mr. Volponi is also the author of Black and White, Rooftop, and Rucker Park Setup. He holds an MA in American Literature from the City College of New York and a BA in English from Baruch. Visit him at www.paulvolponibooks.com.

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    Reviews for Hurricane Song

    3.5/5

    41 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The story of a boy and his father and the events that unfolded during hurricane Katrina. Miles came to New Orleans to live with his father who was a musician and had all of his attention on that. There was a rift between them before the storm came due to Doc's, Miles father, love for Jazz. Miles always felt he played second fiddle to his fathers horn. When the storm was coming onto New Orleans Miles, his father and Uncle were headed to Baton Rouge to seek shelter but their car broke down so they had to seek aid inside the Super Dome. The grizzly days that they spent inside the dome brought them together. As people were let out of the dome and onto the concourse outside Doc wanted to go see their house and club he played at. Both Miles and his father made a run for it and "escaped" to confines of the military guard which were not allowing people to leave. Once on the street they were faced with the dog eat dog nature that had over taken the city. After being shot at and almost strangled to death Miles found out how much his father loved him. Doc used his beloved horn to stop the attacker from killing his son, Miles. Even after being displaced to both Houston and Seattle Miles and his father returned to New Orleans together and with a new bond that both had never seen coming.This heart felt story is a strong tale in which the love of family is forged in the most unlikely of events.
    • 4/5
      Miles is a high school football player, who's just moved to New Orleans to live with his dad after his mom remarried. His father is a professional jazz musician who plays the trumpet, and Miles thinks that his father doesn't pay attention to anything other than his music. Miles is getting settled in his new life when Hurricane Katrina looms in the Gulf, threatening the coast. Miles, his father, and Uncle Roy are forced to take shelter in the Superdome with the majority of New Orleans' poorest black residents who have no way out of the city as the floodwaters rise. The refuge from the monster storm is a combination homeless shelter, prison, and war zone, which one character announces is nothing less than a slave ship on land. This is not a tale for the fainthearted, and Volponi's outrage at what happened before, during and after the storm is obvious in his story. A gripping tale, torn from the headlines of just a few years ago; this one will make you think. Grade 8 and up for language and mature themes.
    • 4/5
      In this short novel about one twelve-year-old's experience living through Hurricane Katrina, the reader gets a disturbing view of how people cope with disaster - and how some turn fear into hatred. Miles, his father and his uncle, both jazz musicians, are forced to take refuge in the Superdome when Hurricane Katrina hits, and through Miles' eyes, we watch as people, hungry, terrified, and desperate, either band together or turn on each other. Miles' account is chilling, and my stomach churns at the thought of the horrors faced by people who thought they were going someplace "safe" to wait out the storm. Miles is a tough young man, made tougher by his experience, and he gains understanding about both himself and his father during the ordeal.The writing is good - the voices are strong and feel authentic - and easily accessible. This would be a good reluctant reader choice, as it is tense, fast-paced, and not long.Recommended.
    • 4/5
      In this short novel about one twelve-year-old's experience living through Hurricane Katrina, the reader gets a disturbing view of how people cope with disaster - and how some turn fear into hatred. Miles, his father and his uncle, both jazz musicians, are forced to take refuge in the Superdome when Hurricane Katrina hits, and through Miles' eyes, we watch as people, hungry, terrified, and desperate, either band together or turn on each other. Miles' account is chilling, and my stomach churns at the thought of the horrors faced by people who thought they were going someplace "safe" to wait out the storm. Miles is a tough young man, made tougher by his experience, and he gains understanding about both himself and his father during the ordeal.The writing is good - the voices are strong and feel authentic - and easily accessible. This would be a good reluctant reader choice, as it is tense, fast-paced, and not long.Recommended.
    • 5/5
      17 year old Miles moves to New Orleans to be with his father after living in space-cramped closeness with his mother who remarries a man who already has three children.The crowded conditions he left cannot compare to the nightmare he faces as he, his near do well jazz musician father and his uncle flee Hurricane Katrina to seek safety in the superdome.Volponi spares nothing as he intensely, accurately, painfully and vividly details the horrors that await them at the overcrowded, stench-filled and violent superdome.The majority of the story takes place inside the dome as gangs rule, as lawlessness abounds and as human nature is portrayed in a worse case scenario.Escaping the turmoil of the superdome, Miles and his father flee to the flooded streets where looting, shooting and crime are rampant.With the necessary imperative to pick up the pieces and repair their lives both in the physical surroundings left behind by the wreckage of Katrina and in the mucky debris of hard emotional feelings, the tenuous relationship between Miles and his father grows in a healing space.Highly recommended. Five Stars.
    • 4/5
      Miles knows that living with his dad in New Orleans won't be a picnic - his dad's always chosen his jazz trumpet playing over his son - but when his mom remarries, it's the lesser of two evils. Even when Hurricane Katrina threatens the city, Miles doesn't regret his decision. But when Miles is trapped in the Superdome with his dad and uncle and unspeakable atrocities begin to take place, it will challenge Miles and his dad to figure out their relationship. I was totally caught up in this gripping and brutal portrayal of Hurricane Katrina. My only complaint is (of course) I would have liked an author's note so I knew how New Yorker Paul Volponi knows anything about what it was like in the Superdome and the aftermath of the storm. The story is pretty graphic and not for the faint of heart, but it will be a hit with teens looking for survival stories.