Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to my wonderful reader & twitter friend, Maureen Wehmeier for our shared reading and discussion of Julie Murphy's second totally awesome book (loved Dumplin' too!!!). Ramona Blue was such a great read- I loved Murphy's writing, her characters, and what a plot. Ramona has a lot going on in her life. She is proudly lesbian (great summer romance with Grace) lives in a double wide since Hurricane Katrina wiped out their home & her mother left. Her sister, Hattie, is pregnant and Tyler has been kicked out of his home and now has squeezed into Ramona and Hattie's very small trailer. She works two jobs, feels totally responsible for her sister, and will not even think of applying to college because of all of the above. Enter, Freddie and his grandmother Agnes who Ramona grew up with during her summers. Now Agnes has retired, bringing Freddie back to Ramona. I can't say enough about Freddie (he is a romantic, honest, kind) because his return brings happiness to Ramona but as time goes on with swimming, hanging with Freddie at school and at home - Ramona finds Freddie has become all important to her everyday happiness in her dysfunctional life. I rooted for Ramona- that she would rise above her own restrictions, deal realistically with happiness, Freddie, and her future. Choices were very important to Ramona and the way she expresses herself each time as she chooses was exquisite. A must read about family, friendship and finding the very special in your life. Highly recommended!

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Drowned City by Don Brown

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With beautiful, haunting comic book images (somber, brownish illustrations) Brown's Drowned City depicts the natural disaster that was Hurricane Katrina and the death, despair and havoc wreaked upon New Orleans. With spare prose, each page & image covers the many elements that continued to unfold as the world looked on in horror at the suffering and death of the residents of Buras, Louisiana are wiped out. There are tales of valor , tales of looting, people drowning, police fleeing, the Superdome debacle, the water grows stagnant, and the total mismanagement by the government to aid New Orleans (pets included) is all to real and deadly. This graphic novel should be read by adults and kids alike...the words and pictures work together to deliver a MUST READ nonfiction graphic novel.

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