free audiosync title 2023 - fiction inspired by true events, written by a journalist/educator (2h21m). Teen football player has just moved to New Orleans to live with his jazz musician dad when Hurricane Katrina hits; they make it to the Superdome safely but not having access to a bathroom with working plumbing quickly becomes the least of their worries.

Very effective writing that more completely describes what people lived through (and didn't live through) during the 2005 Katrina crisis. ( )

FROM SYNC 2023:God slaps the New Orleans Superdome like a drum as he sings a hurricane song called Katrina in this riveting young adult novel. Between the authenticity of the writing and narrator Jacob Norman’s laid-back, youthful delivery, listeners will be convinced they're eavesdropping on the characters in this novel. Miles, a high school sophomore, and his pop and uncle are forced to ride out the disastrous 2005 storm in the city's shelter of last resort. The violence, the filth, and the shortages of food, water, and medical care all unfold in a way that will convince listeners that Volponi was really there. Couple the writing with Norman's authentic-sounding teen voice, and everything about this gripping descent into hurricane hell feels real. Norman sings verses from "When the Saints Go Marching In" between chapters. Luckily, his narrator's voice rings with an authenticity and passion that his singing voice lacks. M.M.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2009]

A twelve-year-old boy and his jazz musician father survive the horrors of Hur- ricane Katrina and their stay in the New Orleans Superdome, growing closer through their painful experience.

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" the 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. Even after being displaced to 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. ( )

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. ( )