Zane and the Hurricane

Twelve-year old Zane Dupree and his beloved mutt Bandit are trapped in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in Rodman Philbrick’s realistic middle grade novel, Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina (2014). Rescued by an elderly musician and a young girl, Zane witnesses both the best and worst of humanity as the group travels by canoe in search of safety. During his harrowing adventure, Zane learns about the importance of family and how it shapes his personal identity. Zane’s experiences also shine a crucial light on issues of racism and inequality. Zane and the Hurricane received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus, and was listed on the 2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List. Pagination in this study guide refers to the 2014 Scholastic edition, ISBN 980545342391.

Plot Summary

Zane Dupree has no desire to visit New Orleans and meet a great grandmother he never knew he had. Zane’s mom is white and his father, Gerald, was Black. Gerald died before Zane was born. Zane agrees to the trip, and he and his dog Bandy fly from their New Hampshire home to New Orleans, unaware that an offshore tropical storm is rapidly becoming a deadly hurricane.

Zane’s elderly grandmother, Beatrice Jackson, known as Miss Trissy, is overjoyed to meet Zane. Miss Trissy raised both Gerald and his younger brother James until James died, and Gerald ran away. Zane warms to the feisty, gracious old lady, calling her Grammy. He is intrigued by her stories about his father, but Miss Trissy will not tell Zane how James died. Though Zane loves Miss Trissy, he is bored in her old-fashioned home in the Lower Ninth Ward. When Zane’s mom phones and tells them to evacuate before the hurricane strikes, Zane is glad to be going home.

The coming storm frightens Miss Trissy. She and Zane attend church for guidance, where Pastor Daniels offers them a ride to safety in the church van. Stuck in traffic fleeing the city, Doberman dogs in a nearby car frighten Bandy, who leaps from the van. Zane follows the little dog back to Miss Trissy’s home. The hurricane strikes. Power goes out. Phone lines go down. Zane and Bandy spend a terrifying night listening to the raging storm. The next morning a huge booming noise signifies that the levees have broken. Water surges into Miss Trissy’s house. Zane and Bandy seek shelter in the stifling attic. Zane breaks out a roof vent to get more air and loses consciousness.

Zane and Bandy are rescued by Malvina, a skinny Black girl about Zane’s age, and her older guardian, a Black musician named Mr. Trudell, “Tru,” Manning. Tru is calm and reassuring. Malvina is sharp-tongued and loves telling jokes. Paddling in Tru’s green canoe, they search for safety. They see other survivors, floating bodies, and swarms of roaches, but no signs of help from the authorities. At a school-turned-refuge, they encounter the drug lord Dylan Toomey. Zane learns that Malvina’s mom is an addict who is in rehab, and Toomey is her supplier. Toomey wants to control Malvina to prevent her mom from snitching on him. The group flees.

They futilely ask for aid in an upscale neighborhood where Tru knows that Black strangers are unwelcome. At a mansion, they encounter an armed security team whose leader holds them at gunpoint and accuses them of being looters. They are humiliated, but physically unharmed. They return to the canoe, only to find it was stolen. Tru decides they must go to the Superdome.

Tru’s foot, injured during the flood, is worsening. Tru urges Zane and Malvina to leave him behind and find his cousin Belinda, but they refuse. Malvina repurposes an office chair, and they push Tru to the Superdome where hundreds of displaced refugees wait for help. They avoid an attempt by Toomey to grab Malvina and realize they must cross a bridge out of the city. A police blockade stops them. Malvina ignores the policemen’s warnings, men brandish shotguns, Bandy senses a threat and jumps, someone shoots, and Bandy is hurt.

Belinda, a vet tech, arrives and hustles them to her animal shelter next to her home. She saves Bandy’s life and aids Tru. Belinda tells Zane about his father and uncle, James and Gerald. James found a gun on the playground, Gerald tried to take it from him, the gun went off and killed James, and Gerald felt so guilty he ran away. Zane is glad to know about his family. Zane’s mom arrives to take him home. A year later, Miss Trissy lives with Zane and his mom. Dylan Toomey was killed by one of his underlings. Zane and Malvina are good friends and talk often. Belinda is now Malvina’s guardian, since Malvina’s mom could not get clean. Tru is back on the road playing with bands after receiving new instruments, and Zane is now proud of where he comes from.