When the River Rises

Gr 10 Up—This hard-hitting graphic novel was inspired by the true events that occurred at the Orleans Parish Prison Complex during Hurricane Katrina. It is August 2005, and inmate Russell Gates is ordered to begin boarding up windows because a massive storm is coming. His estranged 16-year-old son, Sydquan, is incarcerated across town at a juvenile detention center, locked up for a crime he didn't commit, but remains in custody because he refuses to snitch and name the actual culprit. The boy is shipped out by bus, together with all his fellow juvenile offenders, to arrive at the same facility as his father to ride out the hurricane. Father and son meet in a food line at the prison, and Sydquan wants nothing to do with his dad, but when the prison floods, the two work together (reluctantly on the boy's part) to survive the rising, sewage-laden water, the violence of the escaping prisoners, and, eventually, the turmoil of devastated downtown New Orleans. The dialogue is gritty, realistic, and completely understandable. This work is best for older teens because of the hefty dose of salty language and gun violence. The artwork is crisp and clean, using black-and-white illustrations consisting of detailed line drawings and silhouettes that portray a wide range of both emotion and action.