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Another Kind of Hurricane

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In this stunning debut novel, two very different characters—a black boy who loses his home in Hurricane Katrina and a white boy in Vermont who loses his best friend in a tragic accident—come together to find healing.
 
A hurricane, a tragic death, two boys, one marble. How they intertwine is at the heart of this beautiful, poignant book. When ten-year-old Zavion loses his home in Hurricane Katrina, he and his father are forced to flee to Baton Rouge. And when Henry, a ten-year-old boy in northern Vermont, tragically loses his best friend, Wayne, he flees to ravaged New Orleans to help with hurricane relief efforts—and to search for a marble that was in the pocket of a pair of jeans donated to the Red Cross.
 
Rich with imagery and crackling with hope, this is the unforgettable story of how lives connect in unexpected, even magical, ways.
 
“In Smith’s poetic hands, this poignant story barrels across the pages and into the reader’s heart, reminding us that magic can arise from the deepest tragedy.” —Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor Award winner and two-time National Book Award Finalist

336 pages, Library Binding

First published July 14, 2015

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Tamara Ellis Smith

4 books5 followers

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5 stars
123 (25%)
4 stars
175 (36%)
3 stars
140 (29%)
2 stars
30 (6%)
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11 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
Profile Image for Laura Resau.
Author 14 books430 followers
June 30, 2015
I loved this moving book about two grieving and traumatized boys connecting and ultimately finding healing through their new friendship. The language and imagery is poetic-- it made reading this story a profoundly beautiful experience. I love books about tender human connections made across geographical distances and (sub)cultures (in this case, Vermont and New Orleans at the time of Katrina). I also love books with touches of magic artfully woven into the story's fabric. And I love books that deal with deep themes and psychological/social issues while incorporating heart-pounding adventure and suspense. ANOTHER KIND OF HURRICANE had all this... plus memorable characters and vivid settings. It was so satisfying to see the threads of this story come together in such a meaningful way by the end. This book touched me deeply and will stay with me for a long time.
Profile Image for Kelly Bennett.
Author 25 books38 followers
November 30, 2015
"Lyrical Writing"...never knew, really knew what that meant until I read this brilliant, accessible, moving debut YA about 2 boys, and their communities, coping, struggling, healing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Profile Image for Ella Zegarra.
630 reviews226 followers
September 8, 2015
Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Hay libros que me hacen pensar (reconocer) que tengo muy poca empatía por hechos reales en los libros. Por ejemplo, Another Kind of Hurricane está inspirado en lo que fue el huracán Katrina hace unos años, me interesó mucho la idea de este libro cuando leí la parte publicitaría. Además, middle grade, libros que hasta ahora he amado con toda mi alma, los libros con/para niños como protagonistas, me han dejado bastante contenta y con ganas de leer más de los escritores. Lamentablemente no pasó exactamente lo mismo con el debut de Tamara Ellis Smith.

Cuando empecé a bloggear y reseñar, algo que hacía era al final de mi reseña ponerle una puntuación a los tres primeros capítulos. Cómo cosa curiosa tiempo después me enteré que eso es exactamente lo que muchos editores hacen al aceptar proyectos, estoy destinada a ser editora (?). En fin, lo que quiero decir es que si tan solo juzgara al libro por esos primeros capítulos, ni siquiera lo hubiera terminado. Y no es por mala narración o personajes planos, Another Kind of Hurricane es un buen libro debut, solo que no logró despertar ningún tipo de interés o simpatía en mí en esos primeros capítulos. Y eso que la escritora va directo al punto, el primer capítulo es sobre Zavion en pleno huracán y su casa viéndose abajo seguido por Henry a punto de sepultar a su amigo. ¿Por qué se me hizo tan difícil conectar con los personajes al principio? No tengo idea, quizás haya sido un mal momento para leerlo.

Mientras el libro va avanzando, va cambiando también de perspectivas y es ahí cuando recién empiezo a interesarme por la historia. Me encariñé más con los personajes secundarios que con los principales, se me hicieron mucho más interesantes.

Another Kind of Hurricane te habla sobre como todo en la vida está conectado, crueles a veces, las cosas suceden por una razón, aunque pueda tomarnos un buen tiempo el entender el por qué. Quizá no haya sido mi favorito, pero eso no quiere decir que no pueda ser el tuyo.

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Profile Image for Erin Moulton.
Author 7 books109 followers
February 2, 2016
Henry has lost his best friend to a tragic accident.
Zavion has lost his home to a natural disaster.
Henry sends a pair of Jeans to New Orleans, without realizing his lucky marble is in the pocket.
Zavion receives those jeans and wonders where the marble came from.
The two boys journey toward each other. The two stories with bright and colorful characters, weave in and out. I loved how the stories connected. How the people connected. How the magic (of life and hope and recovery) was about connection.

Smith weave's a beautiful tale of heartfelt characters that will stay with you for a long time to come. A recommended read for all ages.
Profile Image for Sharry.
47 reviews
October 30, 2015
This is a gorgeously written story about shattered lives slowly put back together through connection and friendship. It will break your heart and then put it back together again. A must for every school and public library.
Profile Image for Barbara.
15k reviews315 followers
July 22, 2017
Although the author has good intentions in weaving the story of two very different boys who are dealing with grief and loss together, it's hard to imagine that their paths could ever cross and that one special marble would have been found in a pair of jeans sent to New Orleans. Anyone who lived through Hurricane Katrina and its messy aftermath will look askance at this story although applauding the author for trying to capture what happened. Ten-year-old Henry's guilt over his friend's death on the Vermont mountain they both loved is just as palpable as the losses of ten-year-old Zavion in Louisiana. Readers will certainly realize that hurricanes or disasters come in very different forms, always life-changing, but how someone copes with their consequences is what matters. This won't be easy reading for anyone who has survived a natural disaster or a loss, but it might provide some guidance in healing.
Profile Image for Kalen.
578 reviews103 followers
July 4, 2015
A wonderful story about sadness, loss, and fear. The plot points resolved a bit too conveniently but having said that I realize an adult woman is not the target audience for this book--kids are. And I think this is a really great story for them about loss and also understanding Hurricane Katrina's impact. It is beautifully written and will stay with me for quite a while, I'm sure.
1,351 reviews12 followers
September 5, 2015
Interlaced stories of two boys, one from New Orleans and one from Vermont, who are brought together by Hurricane Katrina. Smith's characters are fully formed and their separate journeys are both poignantly and poetically told.
Profile Image for Maria Caplin.
442 reviews14 followers
October 30, 2015
Loved this book- the woven story of two boys and their totally different lives hooked me as a reader. It's not just a story about the hurricane but a story about friendships, family members who do their best and most of all hope for their new normal.
Profile Image for Michele Knott.
4,231 reviews204 followers
August 5, 2015
In this emotionally charged book, the author deftly weaves the stories of two very different boys together.
Profile Image for Danielle.
884 reviews12 followers
December 26, 2016
Actual Score-3.5

This is the story of two boys who both survived horrible tragedies. One boy lives him in Vermont and dealing with the tragic death of his best friend. The other is a Hurricane Katrina survivor living in New Orleans. They are both dealing with an event in their lives that completely disrupts it and learning how to deal with grief.

Before I get into my review, I need to explain my background that kinda effects my thoughts about the story. I and from and live in South Louisiana. I was a senior in high school when Katrina hit. I am from the Baton Rouge area, so while we did have a hurricane hit, it was no worse that many of the ones we have lived through before. A lot of wind and rain, but no mass damage. We did have the influx of people to our area though, some stayed and some went back to NOLA. It was a tough time, but as a teen in Baton Rouge it was relatively normal. Then comes August 2016. My city was devastated with three days straight of rain. More rain was dropped of my city than any hurricane. NOLA flooded because of a hurricane and levee breaking. My city and home flooded from rain. That type of experience is something that cannot be explained. You cannot understand something like this unless you live through it, but I hope that you don't.

I am a teacher, and when the author of this book heard about the flood came with open arms to speak to the students at our school about this book. For that I am forever thankful.

This book is an excellent story of grief. It shows children struggling to deal with issues they should not have to. I think overall it was a beautiful story. With that said, I did think at times every thing was too easy and no way it would happen in real life. I also struggled with the parents. Especially Henry's mom. She should be able to tell that her child is struggling and do everything she can to get him through his grief. Instead she tries to get him to garden. She just seems very disconnected from her child. Zavion's dad is also disconnected, but I forgive him more because of my personal experience. He is grieving just as much as his son. With that said he could have been there more. My real issue with this book though was Zavion did not sound like a boy from New Orleans. He did not have the right language, attitude, or faith. A NOLA boy would never call his dad Papa. It would be dad. Maybe Pa when they are teens. Also a big group of Black men, woman, and children grieving there would be a lot of church and prayer. It is how we roll in the south.

I also think that this book hit way too close for home for me to really love it. As someone who is currently going through what Zavion went through it is tough to love this book because of my own heartbreak.

Overall though, it was a great book!

Teacher Rating: Upper Elementary and Middle School. "Damn" is said a couple of times, but other than that very appropriate.
Profile Image for Mrs. Inglis 5th Grade.
20 reviews
March 23, 2017
By: Harry
Summary- Another Kind of Hurricane took place in both New Orleans and Vermont Where two totally different boys that don't know each other happened to be connected. One of the two boys is called Zavion and lives in New Orleans with his house damaged into pieces by Hurricane Katrina. The other boy is called Henry, suffering from a hurricane inside his heart after his friend died on their mountain. Zavion is black and Henry is white. Zavion is tall and Henry is short. Zavion is from the south and Henry is from the North. How did these two opposite boys met each other? All because of that marble, a round, magical, little piece of glass.

Author- The Author of Another Kind of Hurricane is Tamara Ellis Smith. She grew up in many states like California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Other than Another Kind of Hurricane, she first published Break These Rules in 2013. Then, the author published Another Kind of Hurricane in July, 2015. Tamara is now the mom of four kids. She graduated from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2007 ,and got Master from Fine Arts or known as M.F.A in play writing from New York University. She got her first idea of Another Kind of Hurricane when her 4 year old son asked her who was going to get his pants while on the road to donate food and clothes to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort in August, 2005.

My Opinion and Thoughts- I finished Another Kind of Hurricane. It's definitely a great book. I like the way the author wrote in two people's prospective. Unlike any other books' prospective writing. This had a unique way of prospective changing. Just as the marble in the book was described the stories seemed to be connected. The author her self have been in a tropical storm in Vermont before. Her own experience with the smell of mud, dirt, and the floodwater smell is different from us and others who haven't even tried to imagine being in a hurricane. Her knowledge and writing skills are way far above us like the wide blue ocean and the infinity stars glittering on the black night sky made me realize how small I am. I learned many things from this book, not hust writing skills but life lessons. For example, life seems unfair at the surface, but when you look it from a different angle there's much more things beyond the surface. A death of a friend or an experience more scary than death. They really are the same except one is mental and one is physical but they're both the worst memory. At first, Henry and Zavion were strangers, but different events happened and changed them. Henry and Zavion are same and together they overcame the fear. Sometimes friendship is really important. More important than money. True friendship can never be bought. Henry and Zavion is like the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags, not that they know each other really well but they seemed really needed each other. As Kathi Appelt, two time National Book award finalist stated, "This poignant story barrels across the pages and into the reader's heart, reminding us that magic can arise from the deepest tragedy.
869 reviews8 followers
October 9, 2017
- Two different story lines- 1 in Vermont and 1 in New Orleans.

Different P.O.V for each chapter, until the end of the novel where the two main characters connect and the p.o.v is 3rd person about their joined experience, which is kinda cool.

-Edgy factors- A best friend dies tragically by falling in a ravine on a mountain while the 2 boys are racing down it after sneaking out and spending a night sleeping on the mountain. Although this scene is never graphically described, Henry- the surviving boy has many flashbacks. (written in italics) He doesn't have a strong father figure as his parents are divorced, but connects with dead Wayne's Dad and travels to New Orleans in search of his donated jeans with friendship marble in them.

- Zavion and his father jump off his roof in New Orleans during Katrina and end up at a friend's house where a variety of characters who have experienced loss. Zavion's own mother had passed away and we see why he struggles with "being good" and his guilt in stealing to survive. Other characters that break up the seriousness include 3 grown brothers that clown around, one with a love interest in the local Salvation Army store man Pierre. Ms. Cyn the matriarch, and a bird rescue gal add interesting details. Osprey, a little girl also lightens up the story with her imaginary pets. She has also lost her mom and dog.

- Realistic?- There are many threads weaved throughout each story, and they all magically meet each other and make lots of connections. Although believable,it is a bit of a stretch of the imagination that Henry actually finds Zavion out of all the people and places that exist. Basically it makes New Orleans fell small. However, there are a lot of lessons in "having faith" and accepting things, as well as "just knowing."

-Abstract Concepts- There are several abstract concepts such as a "wandering mountain" via Zavion's mothers descriptions, and when Henry visits the casket of his friend he "shatters into pieces." There are many times when both our main characters struggle. I almost want to say it's like a post traumatic syndrome. Often "flowery language" forces us to read more carefully to understand the imagery.

-HOME- this idea is CLEARLY evident throughout the story. In fact, the original title was "A Marble Looks Like Home."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Melanie Dulaney.
2,282 reviews144 followers
March 5, 2020
Zavion lost everything but his father when a hurricane devastated New Orleans. Henry lost his best friend and feels his whole world collapsing around him. A marble and a mountain link the two boys and help both to find a path to healing. This adult reader enjoyed the way author Tamara Ellis Smith intricately and realistically wove together two very different boys and also managed to illustrate how we all are the same at many levels. A handful of my 4th and several handfuls of my 5th graders will appreciate this artistry and heartfelt work, but most prefer a more fast-paced and action-packed novel. If budget allows and if your reader(s) lean towards books written by authors like Barbara O’Connor, Lisa Graff, Joan Bauer, and possibly Jordan Sonnenblick, “Another Kind of Hurricane.” this book will fill the bill nicely and without a hint of profanity, sexual content or graphic violence. Target audience-grades 5 and up.
Profile Image for Nat.
393 reviews
December 15, 2017
Things I liked about Another Kind of Hurricane: the portrayal of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina; the very real representation of what grief looks and feels like; multiple points-of-view; a creative plot.

The one thing I had a difficult time ignoring was the writing. It just wasn't for me, though I'm sure plenty of people wouldn't bat an eye at the many references to (and overt, persistent mentions of) the symbols throughout the story: mountains, hurricanes, "magic," and birds. I also had a hard time following some of the connections between some of the characters; maybe that's a problem specific to me.

Overall, a warm and fuzzy middle school read that really enlightened me to the human impacts of Hurricane Katrina. I'm happy I read it.
198 reviews
August 5, 2021
I wasn't sure how I'd like this book. There are 2 different characters and story lines to follow, which isn't that hard. I wasn't sure how the author was going to try the stories together. But she did in a way that was a little farfetched but still a heart tugger all the same. I especially liked where the story ended. It didn't end where you thought it might but continued on with both boys still working out their struggles.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
2,125 reviews9 followers
March 25, 2020
I loved this middle reader which addressed children coping with different types of grief. The author did a great job weaving the stories together and communicating some powerful messages and healing and hope. There were a few parts of the plot which felt especially far fetched and random, but overall I recommend it!
Profile Image for Felicity Fields.
457 reviews2 followers
October 14, 2022
Excellent storytelling. I love YA because feelings are visceral and perspectives are not quite "normal." This book lives up to both, describing horrible events in both narrator's lives. The only reason it's not a 5 star is that one of the boys remains quite selfish throughout the book, which made me empathize a bit less with his story line.
Profile Image for Elijah Zarate.
233 reviews
December 3, 2023
This didn't have the "right" delivery for me to have any sort of emotional reaction to it, and it simply wasn't that interesting. So although it is well-intentioned and easy to appreciate, I can't honestly say that I liked it, even though it may lean in that direction. Nice to hang out with it for a few hours, though. 6/10
Profile Image for Jennifer.
Author 2 books28 followers
April 2, 2018
Lovely and lyrical, the story of two boys, two tragedies. I love the way a marble in a pair of donated jeans unites them. It's another view of Katrina, too, focused more on human compassion and how people rebuild their lives.

As a Vermonter, I loved the descriptions of Mount Mansfield. :-)
Profile Image for Mary Alice.
133 reviews2 followers
June 23, 2020
Loved the parallel stories told from 2 perspectives. Both boys had a storm in their lives that caused grief and pain- the author wove their stories together to give a beautiful healing- and the revelation that sometimes, our pain can help others.
Profile Image for Kim.
750 reviews4 followers
September 19, 2017
I enjoyed this but can't see many of my students actually finishing it. Multiple perspectives and then a shift to follow an object make this story complicated to follow for its intended audience.
Profile Image for Glenn.
Author 7 books33 followers
September 13, 2018
This book. This beautiful, beautiful book. It got me. It might not get you like it got me, but man, it's been awhile since I read a book this moving. It's good, people. Gary Schmidt good.
Profile Image for Lee.
51 reviews
February 24, 2020
Such a touching story. I didn’t want to put this book down.
Profile Image for Bailey.
1,047 reviews
March 1, 2020
I thought this was a great middle reader that tackled some tricky topics like grief and natural disasters and coping. I might even want to own it someday for my own kids!
9 reviews
January 31, 2023
This is Juvenile Fiction and I enjoyed it a lot! Author is from Richmond, VT - close to my town. Would suggest giving it a try !
Profile Image for Violet!.
5 reviews
January 19, 2025
Pretty cool book story’s cool just wasn’t my favorite but would recommend
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews

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