Surviving Katrina - bittersweet and beautiful

I can guarantee you'll be touched by the characters in Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Lanesha is a spunky, resourceful 12-year-old who lives in the poor Ninth Ward of New Orleans with Mama Ya-Ya, an elderly midwife who has raised her since Lanesha's mother died in childbirth. Hurricane Katrina is on its way, and Mama Ya-Ya can sense that there's something even worse to survive than the hurricane itself. They make it through the storm - they have no money or transportation to evacuate - but then the flooding comes, and that's when things get really bad. The relationship between Lanesha and Mama Ya-Ya is absolutely warm and pure, and the book's touch of magical realism (Lanesha has the "sight" and can see ghosts, including that of her mother) adds a beautiful angle. Even though I already knew about Katrina and its aftermath, the suspenseful writing totally drew me in. An awesome survival story.