Hurricane

Every once in a while, I pick up a lighter book for younger readers. I do this for two reasons, first because that's just what I'm in the mood for, and second, because I am always looking out for books to recommend to my kids. This book satesfied both reasons. I won't bother giving a synopsis of the plot, as many others have done that better than I could. But what I liked most about this book was it's authenticity. I lived in Guatemala for a year, and this book captured the culture of life in a small Latin American village perfectly. Reading this story brought back fond memories. I also liked the fact that the book didn't pull any punches when it came to the sheer horror of this type of event. Over all, I highly recommend this book to any reader age 10+.

I purchased this book to use with my Reading class and read it when it arrived. It should fit the bill. It is both reader friendly and should keep the attention of my class.

Jose is a very believable boy, forced to see things he'd rather not see, to cope with a situation adults would shrink from--because there is no one else to turn to and others are depending on him. A harrowing story--made all the more gripping by the fact that, while the characters are fictional, the background is real. Terry Trueman does an incredible job of making us feel we are right there.

Thirteen-year-old Jose Cruz has been in La Rupa, Honduras his entire life. The tiny village of 56 people holds everything and everyone familiar to him. He lives in a comfortable house with his mom and dad; older brother and sister Victor and Ruby; younger siblings Juan, Maria and Angela; and beloved dog Berti. He goes to the International School, where he learns in both English and Spanish, and in his free time enjoys playing soccer with his friends. He also always keeps an eye out to catch sight of the colorful parrots that live in the trees on top of the hillside above the village. But in 1998, a category five hurricane hits Honduras and changes everything. Hurricane Mitch strikes land in a fury of rain and wind. Jose has never experienced anything so scary in his life. To make matters worse, his father and older brother and sister are out of town making deliveries, and his faithful dog is missing. Jose knows he must stay brave and strong to help his mother take care of the younger kids. He tries to think what his father and admired older siblings would do, and has to dig deep for courage because the situation grows even worse. The torrential downpour of rain causes a mudslide and buries half of La Rupa in seconds. Many of the villagers are killed, and the survivors are left with the heavy burden of worry and sorrow, and without shelter, food or fresh water. Jose doesn't know what happened to his dad, older siblings, or even his dog. He prays that they are safe and will return soon, but fears the worst. Knowing that if they were home they would be working hard to help the village, Jose pitches in where he can. He helps to dig for survivors, and then the dead; shares his house with the homeless; searches for food and water; and offers to go for a doctor when his little brother gets sick. He tries to be brave, but inside he's terrified. Will Honduras ever be the same? Will his family ever heal? Terry Trueman is no novice writer, and his talents prove themselves in this terrifyingly realistic story based on the true disaster of Hurricane Mitch. Jose and his family are fictional, but the nightmares they and their neighbors endure are very similar to the real ones the Honduran people experienced in 1998. With Trueman's moving story and admirable characters, readers will be able to sympathize with and feel for these individuals. They may even learn from Jose how to dig for strength to face their own potential scary situations in life. --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

With HURRICANE, author Terry Trueman brings to life in vivid detail the almost complete devastation of 1998's Hurricane Mitch on Honduras. In the tiny village of La Rupa, there are only a handful of homes. One of those, at one end of town, is the house of Jose and his family: his mother and father, older brother and sister Victor and Ruby, and younger siblings Maria, Angela, and Juan. There is also their dog, Berti, who can sometimes be persuaded to do more than lie around in the sun. La Rupa is the type of place where everyone knows one another; there is no way to avoid it, since the village is so small. Jose, who attends school at the bilingual International School in nearby San Pedro Sula, is pretty much the only person in the town who can speak both Spanish and English fluently. In September 1998, La Rupa literally comes to a standstill when Hurricane Mitch destroys the town. After a deadly mudslide, the fifty-plus population of La Rupa is chillingly reduced to only a little over twenty. And Jose's father, brother Victor, and sister Ruby are missing, having been on the road traveling when the Hurricane hit. In this vivid and fast-paced narrative, Mr. Trueman takes us through the days immediately following Mitch's destruction. As a lack of food and water begins to haunt the survivors, Jose is part of a group who must search the nearby trucha for supplies. And when little Juan falls ill, it is again up to the teenage Jose to venture out into the mud and muck to attempt to make his way to San Pedro Sula to find help. HURRICANE is a vivid, fast-moving story that even younger readers will find themselves immersed in, as they struggle right along with Jose in learning to survive with next to nothing. The emotions he feels, as he worries about his family's fate, both those missing and still at home, will grip readers of all ages. The author's note at the end of the book states that more than 5,000 people were initially killed in Honduras during the Hurricane. In the months that followed, bodies of the more than 8,000 missing individuals were also found. Even now, in 2008, the clean-up and recovery period in Honduras is still ongoing. This is one book that brings to life a plight of many that most of us never even knew about. Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"