Vernon Poche & The Ghosts of New Orleans

by Paul Siefken

Vernon Poche just wants to go home, but home isn't the same anymore. Hurricane Katrina changed all that. Could the ghosts who remain haunting the empty streets show him the way? Winner of the Silver Medal for Juvenile Fiction in the 2025 Independent Publisher Book Awards. The Louisiana Center for the Book’s “Great Reads” selection for Young Readers from the state of Louisiana, representing the state’s rich literary heritage at the 2025 National Book Festival.

Genres: Middle Grade

348 pages, Paperback

First published October 22, 2024

Reviews

[Elizabeth Schwertfuehrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ode to New Orleans and the people who contributed to its rich history.
Vernon struggles with his father's plan to abandon New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, insisting that the city is not worth rebuilding. Vernon feels very differently but does not know how to convince his father until he and a new friend are lead through the city's abundant history by the ghosts who have given NOLA its culture.
This is a touching tale full of facts and interesting characters. Great middle grade read for kids looking for adventure.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

While revisiting the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, this book takes an unique direction and focuses on the aftermath...and that with a ghostly twist.

After leaving New Orleans to flee Hurricane Katrina, Vernon and his father return to their, luckily, undamaged home as the father helps with the rebuilding process. This includes mixed feelings, and a little stress between Vernon and his father as both already try to deal with the emotional weight the storm has caused. While his father works, Vernon bikes around the area (despite warnings) and not only finds a friend, but runs into a ghost at his mother's grave. This opens up a whole new paranormal world, he never knew existed.

While there have been several books brought out concerning Hurricane Katrina (although not as recently), this weaves through everything in a fresh direction. It begins with escaping the hurricane, but quickly shifts gears as Vernon and his father return to the area to work through the disaster. It was interesting to see the hopelessness and doubt as well as the determination to rebuild from different perspectives. Through Vernon's new friend, Alisha, the problem of lost jobs versus the desire to stay comes to light. All of these struggles came across understandably and offered a slightly different insight into the situation than I've seen before.

Then, there's the ghostly fun. The graveyards of New Orleans and the 'hauntings' of the French Quarter already come to mind when thinking of the city, and by sliding this aspect into the tale, the author adds a nice and needed dab of fantasy. Not only does it keep the themes from growing to heavy, but the paranormal aspect ignites the imagination, while sliding in some history and culture. Plus, the lean toward music gave everything even more personality.

It's an enjoyable read and swirls in quite a bit of layers to keep in engaging until the end.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 spawned a large number of middle grade books on the topic, including Brown's Drowned City (nonfiction), Herlong's Buddy, Holt's The Hurricane Girls, Messner's Ranger in Time: Hurricane Katrina Rescue, Philbrick's Zane and the Hurricane, Rhodes' The Ninth Ward, Smith's Another Kind of Hurricane, Tarshis' I Survived: Hurricane Katrina, Volponi's Hurricane Song, and Woodson's Beneath a Meth Moon (the aftermath).

This is a bit of a twist; while the experience of two tweens during the hurricane is shown, the book is concerned mainly with the aftermath. Vernon and his father return to their home that was not damaged in the "sliver by the river" so that his father can work on the electrical systems. Even though a National Guard member has told Vernon he should not be biking around the area because it's dangerous, he has met the ghost of Marie Laveau at his mother's grave site, and she sends him on an adventure to meet some of the great musicians of the past. We also see Alisha, whose mother was caught in the city but evacuated to the Houston Astrodome and is now staying with a friend and working at an Applebee's. Alisha, who is staying with her grandparents in another area of New Orleans, wants to make sure her mother can be a chef in the French Quarter instead of permanently relocating to Houston. Vernon does have a dog; I'm not sure it's legal to write a book about this storm without including a dog.

A lot of my books about this natural disaster have fallen apart, so if that's the case in your library, and you want a book that explored the history of New Orleans while dealing with the aftermath of the storm, this would be a good choice.

[Brienne Sembrat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The target audience is middle school, but also very much enjoyed by this 55-year-old! A good and creative tale, vibrant characters and setting, some magic and interesting history, laughs and surprises, lessons and lore. I know I have enjoyed a book when I don’t want it to end, hope the author writes more, and very much want to share with friends and family. Plus, now, for the first time, I want to visit New Orleans, perhaps following the path of Vernon and Alisha! Who knows, maybe I’ll meet a ghost. But certainly I will try a beignet!;)

[Dawn M. Pruyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and cute, with some history thrown in. Sort of Goonies but in New Orleans!

[Karen Siddall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The resilience and rich history of New Orleans are revealed through the exciting post-Katrina adventures of two spunky young residents.

Vernon Poche and the Ghosts of New Orleans is a unique and exciting story of two middle-grade explorers in the aftermath of Katrina. Both Vernon and Alisha are lifelong residents of the city and are facing relocation as the adults in their lives look elsewhere for their futures, believing New Orleans is incapable of recovering from the damage of the epic hurricane. Strangers before a chance meeting in the French Quarter, Vernon and Alisha join forces to hunt for rumored treasure with the help and hints of the city's more permanent and ghostly residents.

The stories of both children are anguishing as they mourn their separate circumstances. Vernon's mother died from cancer some time before the storm, and he frequently visits her gravesite in town. He doesn't want to abandon her and her final resting place by moving with his father to another state. Alisha, who was visiting her grandparents outside the city when the storm struck, was separated from her mother when she was evacuated to Houston during the devastation. Her mother was about to realize her dream of being the featured chef at one of the city's iconic restaurants when the storm hit.

Life takes an unexpected turn when Vernon meets the mysterious Marie Laveau and her companion, the unusual stray dog, Tonti, while visiting his mother's grave, while his father works downtown to restore necessary services. Following Marie's cryptic instructions and against his father's wishes and the warnings of the National Guardsmen patrolling the area, Vernon bikes his way around town with Tonti in a box on his handlebars, where he meets the ghosts of some of New Orleans most notable former residents and, eventually, Alisha, who is scoping out the damage and hoping to talk to the restaurant owner to secure her mother's job. The ghostly residents share the rich and varied history of their unique city with the kids and encourage them to discover New Orleans' true treasures as the clock ticks down to Vernon's father's final departure for their new home out of state.

The story is easy to follow and addictive to listen to. It was easy to get wrapped up in Vernon and Alisha's stories and want to know what was going to happen next. The author's portrayal of their adventures is enhanced by their personal struggles and worries, creating relatable characters for young readers or listeners. At times, the attitudes regarding the Confederate history of the area felt a little heavy-handed, such as when Alisha shuns Vernon for having had an ancestor who fought on that side during the war. However, this creates an excellent opportunity for parents and children to discuss the past and present realities.

The audiobook edition is narrated by Hamilton Clancy, who gives each character a unique voice. He captured the differences in age, gender, and nationality so well that I often completely forgot this was one person performing them all. It was just as easy to believe I was listening to a famous gospel singer as it was to an 18th-century pirate. While the narration's pace was adjustable, the default setting made it easy to understand and provided ample opportunities to pause as needed, without having to adjust the stopping point later.

While, as a parent, I have reservations about a book that features children disobeying their parents, it does offer an opportunity to discuss this aspect of the story with my own. However, the disobedience advances the plot, and even Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were known for taking similar liberties. Still, the dangerous chances Vernon embraces should be addressed. Other than that, the story is unique, mysterious, and ultimately happy.

I recommend the audiobook edition of VERNON POCHE AND THE GHOSTS OF NEW ORLEANS to upper elementary and middle-grade-age listeners.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through AudiobookReviewer.com.