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Behind the Waterline
Winner of the Lee Smith Novel Prize
Behind the Waterline takes readers to the home of a teenager and his grandmother in a New Orleans neighborhood on the eve of Katrina, where there are few resources and little warning of what is about to happen, in this novel that mixes magical realism with reality.
When Hurricane Katrina approaches New Orleans, teenaged Eric and his grandmother and many of their neighbors decide to ride out the storm. Kionna Walker LeMalle’s masterful debut novel brings her readers, like the rising water, onto Eric’s street in the Third Ward, where stranded dogs bark for a time, where neighbors are floating on doors, and where Eric and his grandmother must take refuge in his second floor bedroom. After days of heat, dwindling supplies, and relentless rising water, neighbors begin to disappear and Eric’s grandmother, already known as an eccentric, begins to falter. It is then that Eric—in a dream, a hallucination, or something else—discovers a room beyond his closet wall, a place he has never seen. What he discovers inside will send him on a path to discover secrets to survival, bitter progress, and, ultimately, the history of his own people—those he sorely misses and those he never even knew.
Behind the Waterline takes readers to the home of a teenager and his grandmother in a New Orleans neighborhood on the eve of Katrina, where there are few resources and little warning of what is about to happen, in this novel that mixes magical realism with reality.
When Hurricane Katrina approaches New Orleans, teenaged Eric and his grandmother and many of their neighbors decide to ride out the storm. Kionna Walker LeMalle’s masterful debut novel brings her readers, like the rising water, onto Eric’s street in the Third Ward, where stranded dogs bark for a time, where neighbors are floating on doors, and where Eric and his grandmother must take refuge in his second floor bedroom. After days of heat, dwindling supplies, and relentless rising water, neighbors begin to disappear and Eric’s grandmother, already known as an eccentric, begins to falter. It is then that Eric—in a dream, a hallucination, or something else—discovers a room beyond his closet wall, a place he has never seen. What he discovers inside will send him on a path to discover secrets to survival, bitter progress, and, ultimately, the history of his own people—those he sorely misses and those he never even knew.
246 pages, Hardcover
Published March 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 13, 2025
4.5 Stars
I enjoyed this one and will continue to reflect on it over the next couple of days.
However, in this story, we follow Eric and his eccentric grandmother before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Eric is challenged to write a story about someone in his family who could be considered a hero, but because of Eric's complicated family makeup, he feels as though he has no one to write about.
From there, Katrina arrives, and we follow Eric and his grandma Ruth from New Orleans to Houston. Lemalle offers a unique insight into the experiences of these Black families who were displaced. I vividly remember Katrina and watching the vilification of Black folks who were trying to survive, and Lemalle does an excellent job of conveying this. Alongside the Katrina storyline, Eric is transported back in time to moments unique to his family's history. We, along with Eric, discover that he has a hero in his family tree, and that person is closer than he thinks.
This story offers an excellent look into the horrors of Katrina, as well as discussions on racism, found family, and the challenges of integrating the South in the 50s and 60s. This would have been a five-star read for me if we had spent more time in the past, which is a personal gripe of mine because I am a historical fiction girlie. I can't wait to read more from Lemalle.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up if:
-You're a fan of family histories
-Curious about the Black experience during Hurricane Katrina
-You enjoy magical realism in your stories
I enjoyed this one and will continue to reflect on it over the next couple of days.
However, in this story, we follow Eric and his eccentric grandmother before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Eric is challenged to write a story about someone in his family who could be considered a hero, but because of Eric's complicated family makeup, he feels as though he has no one to write about.
From there, Katrina arrives, and we follow Eric and his grandma Ruth from New Orleans to Houston. Lemalle offers a unique insight into the experiences of these Black families who were displaced. I vividly remember Katrina and watching the vilification of Black folks who were trying to survive, and Lemalle does an excellent job of conveying this. Alongside the Katrina storyline, Eric is transported back in time to moments unique to his family's history. We, along with Eric, discover that he has a hero in his family tree, and that person is closer than he thinks.
This story offers an excellent look into the horrors of Katrina, as well as discussions on racism, found family, and the challenges of integrating the South in the 50s and 60s. This would have been a five-star read for me if we had spent more time in the past, which is a personal gripe of mine because I am a historical fiction girlie. I can't wait to read more from Lemalle.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up if:
-You're a fan of family histories
-Curious about the Black experience during Hurricane Katrina
-You enjoy magical realism in your stories
February 4, 2025
As a Texan and a fellow hurricane survivor, this book was incredible!!!
Eric is a middle school boy that lives with his eccentric grandmother since he was a baby. When Hurricane Katrina heads straight for New Orleans and grandma makes the decision to stay, Eric is hit with huge problems that no kid should have to face.
Kionna Walker LeMalle perfectly sums up the culture of New Orleans, the fear before and after the hurricane and the trauma of the aftermath of the storm.
I would recommend this book for anyone.
#hurricane
#hurricanekatrina
#neworleans
#segregation
Eric is a middle school boy that lives with his eccentric grandmother since he was a baby. When Hurricane Katrina heads straight for New Orleans and grandma makes the decision to stay, Eric is hit with huge problems that no kid should have to face.
Kionna Walker LeMalle perfectly sums up the culture of New Orleans, the fear before and after the hurricane and the trauma of the aftermath of the storm.
I would recommend this book for anyone.
#hurricane
#hurricanekatrina
#neworleans
#segregation
May 29, 2025
4.5 stars rounded up. This story is going to stick with me for a while, and I’m still trying to process it. I think the writing style is fantastic and a lovely debut novel! I’m sad to see only 22 ratings on this book so far. I hope more people pick it up soon! This story has a little bit of everything: from history to social justice and discussions of racism to magical realism. I think the story could have been a little longer but really, it was great. The author captured deep, heart-wrenching emotions so well. Definitely recommend!
January 4, 2026
I enjoyed this book, even though I always hesitate to embark on a hurricane Katrina story because I have been through it—lost our home, car, and jobs, but luckily not our lives. This is the story of Eric Calhoun and his grandmother Ruth who stay to hunker down for the storm, and horrible, catastrophic, and strange things happen to them as a result. This story is many things: a coming of age story, a mystery, and a magic realist tale of time travel. I will leave it at that. I read it all in one day. The only reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is twofold. First, the unraveling of the mystery was at times confusing and also at times the story vibed a bit too young adult for me. I wanted more magic realism because turning a traumatic story into a beautiful magical tale is winning. Lemalle does do this to some degree, and I enjoyed these high points in the novel, so I look forward to more books by this author.
June 6, 2026
Behind the Waterline is simultaneously a coming-of-age story, a family mystery, a Hurricane Katrina narrative, a Civil Rights era historical novel, and a work of magical realism. Such ambitions often result in a book that feels overburdened by its own themes, but Kionna Walker LeMalle succeeds here because she understands that history is not an abstract concept. History lives in houses, in family silences, in inherited fears, and in the stories people refuse to tell.
The story follows Eric Calhoun, a teenager living with his grandmother, Ruth Calhoun, in New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approaches. On the surface, the plot seems straightforward: a young man survives a catastrophic storm and uncovers secrets about his family. Yet the novel quickly reveals itself to be less concerned with what Katrina destroys than with what it exposes. The floodwaters become an act of excavation. As Eric discovers hidden spaces within his grandmother’s house and experiences increasingly strange encounters with the past, the narrative broadens into an exploration of memory, race, inheritance, and identity..
A strong quality of Behind the Waterline lies in its narrative structure. Rather than presenting history through conventional flashbacks or explanatory exposition, LeMalle constructs a layered narrative in which past and present increasingly bleed into one another. The structure mirrors the central thematic concern of the novel: the idea that history is never truly past.
Many historical novels divide themselves neatly between contemporary and historical timelines. Behind the Waterline does not. Through Eric’s experiences, readers encounter the Civil Rights era not as distant history but as a living presence. The effect creates a sense that time itself has become permeable.
This structure also reflects Eric’s psychological journey. At the beginning of the novel, he experiences history as something external. The Civil Rights Movement, segregation, and family trauma belong to previous generations. But as the narrative progresses, those historical events become deeply personal. The structural collapse of temporal distance parallels Eric’s growing realization that his own identity has been shaped by events he never witnessed.
LeMalle establishes everyday life before the storm, and the choice serves an important purpose. Behind the Waterline requires readers to understand what is being threatened before catastrophe arrives. Katrina gains emotional weight because the narrative invests in place and community beforehand.
The world building is among the novel’s most impressive accomplishments. Although the book is set within a recognizable reality, LeMalle approaches New Orleans with the attention typically associated with fantasy writers constructing fictional worlds.
The house itself deserves recognition as a very important setting. Ruth’s home isn’t merely where the story occurs. It’s a physical manifestation of memory. The hidden room behind Eric’s closet is a particularly effective symbol because it literalizes the novel’s central concern with concealed history.
Family secrets become architectural features. The house contains forgotten spaces just as the family contains forgotten stories. LeMalle’s decision to root the magical elements within the domestic space reinforces the idea that history is embedded within everyday life.
And through this, it is clear how cohesive the symbolism throughout the novel is. Water obviously operates as the dominant symbol. On the most immediate level, it represents Katrina and the devastation caused by the storm. Yet LeMalle repeatedly expands its symbolic significance. Water becomes associated with memory, concealment, revelation, and inheritance.
The title itself is revealing. A waterline marks the visible evidence left behind after flooding recedes. It indicates where destruction reached. Therefore, the title—Behind the Waterline—suggests that the novel isn’t merely interested in catastrophe but also in its aftermath. The waterline becomes a metaphor for inherited trauma. Just as floodwaters leave visible marks upon buildings, historical trauma leaves marks upon families. The descendants may not have experienced the original event, but they still live with its consequences.
Doors, rooms, and thresholds emerge as recurring symbols as well. Eric repeatedly crosses boundaries between known and unknown spaces. These transitions reflect his movement between ignorance and understanding. Every threshold crossed represents a deeper encounter with hidden truths.
Characterization is arguably the novel’s greatest strength. Eric initially appears to fit the familiar mold of the adolescent protagonist searching for identity. However, LeMalle doesn’t reduce him to a simple coming-of-age archetype. His curiosity, uncertainty, frustration, and determination feel authentic. More importantly, Eric remains emotionally recognizable even as the novel enters increasingly surreal territory.
His development is compelling because knowledge doesn’t empower him immediately. Learning family secrets often complicates and confuses rather than clarifies his understanding of himself.
Ruth is also a memorable character in the novel. Early in the story, she’s interpreted as the eccentric elderly relative common to many family dramas. LeMalle gradually dismantles this perception. Ruth’s behavior acquires greater complexity as historical context emerges.
What initially appears to be paranoia then resembles survival strategy. What appears to be stubbornness becomes resilience. Ruth embodies one of the novel’s most important themes: the tendency of younger generations to misinterpret behaviors formed by historical trauma.
Yet focusing solely on Eric and Ruth overlooks the broader achievement of the supporting cast. The secondary characters help transform the novel from a private family story into a communal one. They illustrate how history extends beyond individual households.
Many family secrets narratives become claustrophobic because every conflict remains confined within a single family unit. LeMalle avoids this by populating the novel with characters whose experiences illuminate larger social realities. Neighbors, friends, relatives, and figures from the historical storyline all contribute to a richer understanding of community.
The characters connected to the Civil Rights era sections are also significant. Rather than functioning merely as vehicles for historical exposition, they are individuals navigating systems of power, discrimination, fear, and hope. Their choices reverberate across generations.
The magical realism in Behind the Waterline deserves particular attention because it represents both the novel’s greatest risk and one of its most distinctive achievements. Many works of magical realism use supernatural elements to create wonder. LeMalle employs them primarily to create access.
The magical aspects of the novel are not designed to transport readers away from reality. Instead, they deepen engagement with historical reality. The supernatural becomes a mechanism through which forgotten histories become visible. The hidden room functions less like a fantasy portal and more like an embodiment of memory itself. History becomes accessible not through research or exposition but through lived experience. Eric doesn’t merely learn about the past. He encounters it.
This matters because it transforms historical understanding into something emotional rather than informational. Readers aren’t simply told what happened. They experience history right alongside Eric.
At times, the magical realism intentionally creates uncertainty. The boundaries between vision, memory, dream, and supernatural encounter remain ambiguous. Rather than weakening the narrative, this ambiguity reinforces its central argument. Memory itself is often unstable, as family stories evolve and historical narratives become fragmented.
If there’s a weakness in the novel, it lies in the final act. The accumulation of revelations generated tremendous narrative momentum, but the resolution arrived too quickly relative to the careful pacing that precedes it. Several emotional, historical, and familial threads deserve additional space to breathe. After spending so much time excavating buried truths, the novel seemed too eager to move toward closure.
Yet even this weakness reflects Behind the Waterline’s broader concerns. Complete closure is arguably impossible within a story about historical trauma; no revelation can fully repair generations of silence, and no discovery can entirely reconcile past and present.
Ultimately, Behind the Waterline repeatedly demonstrates that the past survives in architecture, family stories, habits, fears, and silences. Katrina serves as the catalyst, but the true subject is inheritance—not inheritance of property or wealth, but inheritance of memory.
The story follows Eric Calhoun, a teenager living with his grandmother, Ruth Calhoun, in New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approaches. On the surface, the plot seems straightforward: a young man survives a catastrophic storm and uncovers secrets about his family. Yet the novel quickly reveals itself to be less concerned with what Katrina destroys than with what it exposes. The floodwaters become an act of excavation. As Eric discovers hidden spaces within his grandmother’s house and experiences increasingly strange encounters with the past, the narrative broadens into an exploration of memory, race, inheritance, and identity..
A strong quality of Behind the Waterline lies in its narrative structure. Rather than presenting history through conventional flashbacks or explanatory exposition, LeMalle constructs a layered narrative in which past and present increasingly bleed into one another. The structure mirrors the central thematic concern of the novel: the idea that history is never truly past.
Many historical novels divide themselves neatly between contemporary and historical timelines. Behind the Waterline does not. Through Eric’s experiences, readers encounter the Civil Rights era not as distant history but as a living presence. The effect creates a sense that time itself has become permeable.
This structure also reflects Eric’s psychological journey. At the beginning of the novel, he experiences history as something external. The Civil Rights Movement, segregation, and family trauma belong to previous generations. But as the narrative progresses, those historical events become deeply personal. The structural collapse of temporal distance parallels Eric’s growing realization that his own identity has been shaped by events he never witnessed.
LeMalle establishes everyday life before the storm, and the choice serves an important purpose. Behind the Waterline requires readers to understand what is being threatened before catastrophe arrives. Katrina gains emotional weight because the narrative invests in place and community beforehand.
The world building is among the novel’s most impressive accomplishments. Although the book is set within a recognizable reality, LeMalle approaches New Orleans with the attention typically associated with fantasy writers constructing fictional worlds.
The house itself deserves recognition as a very important setting. Ruth’s home isn’t merely where the story occurs. It’s a physical manifestation of memory. The hidden room behind Eric’s closet is a particularly effective symbol because it literalizes the novel’s central concern with concealed history.
Family secrets become architectural features. The house contains forgotten spaces just as the family contains forgotten stories. LeMalle’s decision to root the magical elements within the domestic space reinforces the idea that history is embedded within everyday life.
And through this, it is clear how cohesive the symbolism throughout the novel is. Water obviously operates as the dominant symbol. On the most immediate level, it represents Katrina and the devastation caused by the storm. Yet LeMalle repeatedly expands its symbolic significance. Water becomes associated with memory, concealment, revelation, and inheritance.
The title itself is revealing. A waterline marks the visible evidence left behind after flooding recedes. It indicates where destruction reached. Therefore, the title—Behind the Waterline—suggests that the novel isn’t merely interested in catastrophe but also in its aftermath. The waterline becomes a metaphor for inherited trauma. Just as floodwaters leave visible marks upon buildings, historical trauma leaves marks upon families. The descendants may not have experienced the original event, but they still live with its consequences.
Doors, rooms, and thresholds emerge as recurring symbols as well. Eric repeatedly crosses boundaries between known and unknown spaces. These transitions reflect his movement between ignorance and understanding. Every threshold crossed represents a deeper encounter with hidden truths.
Characterization is arguably the novel’s greatest strength. Eric initially appears to fit the familiar mold of the adolescent protagonist searching for identity. However, LeMalle doesn’t reduce him to a simple coming-of-age archetype. His curiosity, uncertainty, frustration, and determination feel authentic. More importantly, Eric remains emotionally recognizable even as the novel enters increasingly surreal territory.
His development is compelling because knowledge doesn’t empower him immediately. Learning family secrets often complicates and confuses rather than clarifies his understanding of himself.
Ruth is also a memorable character in the novel. Early in the story, she’s interpreted as the eccentric elderly relative common to many family dramas. LeMalle gradually dismantles this perception. Ruth’s behavior acquires greater complexity as historical context emerges.
What initially appears to be paranoia then resembles survival strategy. What appears to be stubbornness becomes resilience. Ruth embodies one of the novel’s most important themes: the tendency of younger generations to misinterpret behaviors formed by historical trauma.
Yet focusing solely on Eric and Ruth overlooks the broader achievement of the supporting cast. The secondary characters help transform the novel from a private family story into a communal one. They illustrate how history extends beyond individual households.
Many family secrets narratives become claustrophobic because every conflict remains confined within a single family unit. LeMalle avoids this by populating the novel with characters whose experiences illuminate larger social realities. Neighbors, friends, relatives, and figures from the historical storyline all contribute to a richer understanding of community.
The characters connected to the Civil Rights era sections are also significant. Rather than functioning merely as vehicles for historical exposition, they are individuals navigating systems of power, discrimination, fear, and hope. Their choices reverberate across generations.
The magical realism in Behind the Waterline deserves particular attention because it represents both the novel’s greatest risk and one of its most distinctive achievements. Many works of magical realism use supernatural elements to create wonder. LeMalle employs them primarily to create access.
The magical aspects of the novel are not designed to transport readers away from reality. Instead, they deepen engagement with historical reality. The supernatural becomes a mechanism through which forgotten histories become visible. The hidden room functions less like a fantasy portal and more like an embodiment of memory itself. History becomes accessible not through research or exposition but through lived experience. Eric doesn’t merely learn about the past. He encounters it.
This matters because it transforms historical understanding into something emotional rather than informational. Readers aren’t simply told what happened. They experience history right alongside Eric.
At times, the magical realism intentionally creates uncertainty. The boundaries between vision, memory, dream, and supernatural encounter remain ambiguous. Rather than weakening the narrative, this ambiguity reinforces its central argument. Memory itself is often unstable, as family stories evolve and historical narratives become fragmented.
If there’s a weakness in the novel, it lies in the final act. The accumulation of revelations generated tremendous narrative momentum, but the resolution arrived too quickly relative to the careful pacing that precedes it. Several emotional, historical, and familial threads deserve additional space to breathe. After spending so much time excavating buried truths, the novel seemed too eager to move toward closure.
Yet even this weakness reflects Behind the Waterline’s broader concerns. Complete closure is arguably impossible within a story about historical trauma; no revelation can fully repair generations of silence, and no discovery can entirely reconcile past and present.
Ultimately, Behind the Waterline repeatedly demonstrates that the past survives in architecture, family stories, habits, fears, and silences. Katrina serves as the catalyst, but the true subject is inheritance—not inheritance of property or wealth, but inheritance of memory.
December 8, 2025
Story that follows a young boy and his grandmother durning and after hurricane Katrina. The story of during and after Katrina held my attention and kept me wanting to know what happens next. I do feel like the parts of the book about going through the portal to the past could have been written in more detail or elaborated more on to connect more to the story. The time traveling storyline could be a book itself.
August 30, 2025
As I was born and raised in New Orleans and after finding out the author was born there too I was very interested in reading this one. We are following a young Eric and his grandmother as they prepare for hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. They decided to ride it out and soon realize this was a mistake. The story was told so vividly and with such care I throughly enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the dialogue which I found so real and personal. I felt so close to the characters. However the closet and hidden room made no sense to me. I was waiting for the part that would explain why we needed this in the book and I personally never understood why. Also, the ending with the big real of the “family” just confused the hell out of time and I just didn’t get it.
January 4, 2026
Behind the Waterline has a lyrical style and a strong emotional core. Some passages are truly moving, but the narrative meanders in places, which made it harder to stay fully invested. Still, it leaves a quiet impact and lingers after the last page.
Maybe 3.5 stars though.
Maybe 3.5 stars though.
November 22, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A raw, emotional and poignant debut novel from LeMalle. So excited to read more from her.
A raw, emotional and poignant debut novel from LeMalle. So excited to read more from her.
January 23, 2026
This novel is another hidden gem that does not seem to have gotten much press. It utilizes magical realism in such a way that it does not distract from the main story. Eric is a young bi-racial teen, who is being raised by his grandmother, Ruth. Ruth is a bit of an odd duck, who has been traumatized by her participation in the civil rights movement as a teenage college student. She refuses to talk to Eric about his parents or her past, leaving Eric totally at a loss. When hurricane Katrina hits, Eric and his grandmother are trapped inside their home until they are rescued and relocated to Houston. While in the home and in his closet, Eric is transported back to the past during the time that his grandmother and his current pastor were part of the civil rights movement. Eric does not quiet understand what he sees and returns to the present and starts to research what happened during that time period and tp try and learn the connections to what he knows of his family. The past and the present collide in terms of who he and his grandmother meet after relocating to Houston. As the story progresses, the reader learns more of what happened to Eric's grandmother and his parents and how past and present are connected.
This novel is a coming of age story as much as it is a reminder of the Civil Rights Movement and Hurricane Katrina. The characters are well developed, and the story makes it hard not to keep on reading to see what happens next.
This novel is a coming of age story as much as it is a reminder of the Civil Rights Movement and Hurricane Katrina. The characters are well developed, and the story makes it hard not to keep on reading to see what happens next.
April 4, 2025
Imminently readable and told through the eyes of an attractive and empathetic character, Behind the Waterline chronicles not only the immediate physical, emotional, and mental wounds left behind by Hurricane Katrina, but the discoveries it leads to in young Eric's life. Using a child's point of view allows Lemalle to explore new territory associated with that tragic occurrence. Through the use of strong character shaping of Eric, Ruth, and Pastor Charles, supported by a host of minor characters, the reader is pulled into the present and the pasts of multiple generations, some known, and some unknown. Using the literary approach of magical realism, the author reveals facts to the reader that the characters won't know until the book's climax. Groups will find much to discuss, from the historic events of Katrina and the forced integration of Ole Miss to family relationships, the enduring harm caused by racism, the trafficking in human infants, and how humans find strength they did not know existed through terrible challenge. For book clubs who want to be adventurous and discuss the literary aspects of the novel, Lemalle's turning of the traditional metaphor of water as baptism into new life on its head will provide rich matter. The novel teaches as it entertains and provides a fine example of the fact that with tragedy can come some positives.
August 27, 2025
I love hearing family stories / lore / legacies / etc. I was very excited to read this story especially now as we reflect back from the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I greatly enjoyed this story.
However, I feel there was something incomplete about it. I felt like some things were rushed. Some thing seems like a nice bow to cover up bigger issues. There were a lot of things that were left unmentioned or unresolved. There are many holes in the history that just remain a secret. And while many things in Black History are lost to time due to lack of documentation, I feel like that is not reflected in this story.
I greatly appreciated this book. I would totally read it again and recommend it to others. But, I do wish there was just MORE to the ending.
However, I feel there was something incomplete about it. I felt like some things were rushed. Some thing seems like a nice bow to cover up bigger issues. There were a lot of things that were left unmentioned or unresolved. There are many holes in the history that just remain a secret. And while many things in Black History are lost to time due to lack of documentation, I feel like that is not reflected in this story.
I greatly appreciated this book. I would totally read it again and recommend it to others. But, I do wish there was just MORE to the ending.
January 27, 2026
Behind the Waterline by Kionna Walker Lemalle takes place in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. Eric and his grandmother have to stay put in their home on the 3rd Ward. When the storm hits it ravishes their neighborhood, and it takes weeks before they are rescued. They are taken to Houston where they find temporary housing while they rebuild. Eric's mother died and his father is not around and rumor has it his crazy grandmother ran him off. He has many questions about the past that the adults around him never address. In the aftermath of the storm he begins to discover his roots. A really impactful read about love, family and resilience.
March 27, 2026
It was a beautiful depiction of both New Orleans culture and community in the midst of devastation. I’m glad it spent time highlighting how survivors of Katrina were disregarded in subtle and backhanded ways. The magical portal element was a bit of a slow burn, and the jumps from present-day reality to the historical setting Eric finds himself immersed in were a bit confusing to follow at times. The wrapping up of the story at the end felt somewhat rushed and needed more explanation, but overall, I found it to be an engaging storyline.
March 18, 2025
Behind the Waterline is engaging and powerful! It helped me reflect on the lives and experiences of the children and youth who survived Hurricane Katrina. It is a beautiful reminder of the legacies that are built from previous generations even though they experienced unimaginable trauma. It was a page-turner but I wanted to read it slowly because I didn't want it to end! Thank you for writing this wonderful, thoughtful, and poignant book!
April 17, 2025
Behind the Water Line was excellent!. I read it so voraciously on our vacation. She is such a great writer. I loved how she used fictional characters to weave history, facts, and issues of humanity. I also appreciated her non- linear narrative. I particularly appreciated the way she drew the reader into a vivid and immersive experience with Eric’s visions. That was a nice surprise.
I was left wanting more when I completed the book.
Well done!
I was left wanting more when I completed the book.
Well done!
September 13, 2025
Lemalle is a great writer. The book's opening line draws you right in. Here is the back story of the some of the people who survived and didn't survive Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The author serves up the finest of details in her descriptions of the people and the horrifying occurences during the hours, days, weeks, and months before and after the storm. Riveting.
November 21, 2025
While there were parts of this one that I loved, it often felt disjointed and the history wasn't incorporated enough until close to the end of the book. Once it got into the history it also at times felt like it was laying out the facts of history a little to obviously instead of using the story to show you them.
April 2, 2026
This was a great coming of age New Orleans/Katrina story. It had a hint of magical realism that I've been looking for from a book set in Louisiana. This was not something to binge, the descriptions of going through Hurricane Katrina were so vivid, that it made you feel like you were with the characters in the Nola heat. Some parts were heartbreakingly sad. There was also parts of the family ties towards the end that were uncovered so quickly and just glossed over that I struggled to fully understand what was going on. Overall, good book, would recommend to my LA people.
June 6, 2026
As a native Louisianan, I may be a bit biased but this book was such a beautiful literary depiction of the culture, strength, and resilience of the people of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. This historical fiction captured the effects of hiding parts of our past may do more harm than protecting. It was also good to see the author show enemies become friends amidst time of catastrophe.
June 22, 2025
While I thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling, the portal to the past ruined it for me. I would have preferred the grandma or Pastor to tell him the story.
The flood was written so vividly. The characters were very well developed. it just very disconnected between the two narratives.
The flood was written so vividly. The characters were very well developed. it just very disconnected between the two narratives.
August 12, 2025
Interesting promos of reading a fictional book that goes back and forth between two of the biggest events in US history. And interesting to get a fictional take and stories on the African-American history of America as well. A bit different to what I would normally read
August 22, 2025
On the 20th Anniversary of Katrina - ‘Behind the Water Line’ brought back so many memories of that time — and Eric’s Coming of Age in a way - Survival & Learning in a time that tested people’s limits .. Great Read
January 18, 2026
this is a niche part of historical fiction but very well written. this genre isn’t high on my interests so three stars but would probably be four stars for others. honored to know the author personally and felt connected to the story and characters! ★★★
January 18, 2026
I was a senior in high school when Hurricane Katrina hit. Living in Houston, I saw first hand people who came from New Orleans to seek refuge. Kionna did an amazing job bringing this story to life. I felt like I was there with Eric in all that he went through. Excellent story.
April 30, 2026
I picked this up interested in the subject of Katrina.
The book quietly pulled me in.
Spoiler Alert-
It took me until the second half of the book to appreciate the 'time travel'. I was not a fan of it's introduction but I ended up loving how it tied the characters together.
The book quietly pulled me in.
Spoiler Alert-
It took me until the second half of the book to appreciate the 'time travel'. I was not a fan of it's introduction but I ended up loving how it tied the characters together.
April 1, 2025
this was beautiful
October 11, 2025
Deeply moving.
January 25, 2026
I had a chance of thinking about the hard life after hurricane Katrina swept.
February 24, 2026
3.75 stars. Behind the Waterline takes place in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and I was surprised that it's already the 20th anniversary of Katrina - it feels like it happened not too long ago. This story is a family drama with lot of secrets and really gave us some insights on that time period. I am not a magical realism fan and while this did not have heavy magical realism, I still didn't enjoy those parts very much. But that is absolutely a preference thing, not a writing issue. It's a debut novel and I am interested to see what the author will write next!
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