A twelve-year-old boy and his dog become trapped in New Orleans during the horrors of Hurricane Katrina.
Zane Dupree has travelled with his dog Bandit from his home in New Hampshire to New Orleans to meet a great-grandmother he never knew he had. He arrives just days before Hurricane Katrina hits. As he and his great-grandmother try to evacuate the city, they get separated, and Zane finds himself alone in a city he knows nothing about, with no one but his dog to help him. As the hurricane rages, he and Bandit shelter in Zane’s great-grandmother’s house. After the winds die down, the levees break and they must climb into the attic of the house to escape the flooding and hope that the water stops rising before they become trapped up there. Bandit’s barking attracts the attention of a man and girl in a canoe, and Zane is rescued from the roof of the house. But as they float through the water of the city in unbearable heat, with very little food or water, and “stuff so awful it made a dog hide his nose,” Zane begins to understand that the danger is far from over. The water is full of snakes, raw sewage and worse, and the devastation in the city is so immense that there is no help to be had from the police, the fire department or any other organization. The three people and Bandit must find their own way, carefully and cautiously, to safe high ground, food and water, and a telephone to call for help. During their journey, Zane experiences the best and the worst in people. He discovers that people who could and should be good do not always choose to be, and that bad people can do good things. He learns to trust when he can, run or hide when he must, and carry on even when he is afraid.
Recommended By: Doriene Smither – East Washington Library
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