Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere

by Julie T. Lamana

Overview

A gripping story of courage and survival, Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere celebrates the power of hope and love in the face of the unthinkable. 

Armani Curtis can think about only one thing: her tenth birthday. She's having a party, her mama is making a big cake, and she has a good feeling about a certain wrapped box. Turning ten years old is a big deal to Armani. It means she's older, wiser, more responsible. But when Hurricane Katrina hits the Lower Nines of New Orleans and tears her world apart, Armani realizes that being ten means being brave, watching loved ones die, and mustering all her strength to help her family weather the storm. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452128801
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	07/21/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Julie T. Lamana lives in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana, and worked in an after-school program for children displaced by Hurricane Katrina, gaining a unique insight into their experiences surviving the storm. This book is a reflection of those experiences.

Editorial Reviews

"Experience vicariously the uncertainty of Armani and her siblings as their whole world is turned topsy-turvy."—Reading Today

"Experience vicariously the uncertainty of Armani and her siblings as their whole world is turned topsy-turvy."—Reading Today

"Experience vicariously the uncertainty of Armani and her siblings as their whole world is turned topsy-turvy."—Reading Today

"A gripping story of survival."—Middle Shelf Magazine

"A gripping story of survival."—Middle Shelf Magazine

"A gripping story of survival."—Middle Shelf Magazine

"Whether it's about war, or terrorism, or natural disasters, I have always believed that fiction tells a more layered and complete story of an earthshaking event than all television and newspaper reports combined.In Julie Lamana's novel of courage and survival, you don't just learn what happens to siblings trapped in the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, you feel it."— Nancy Lamb,author of The Art and Craft of Storytelling and The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children

"Whether it's about war, or terrorism, or natural disasters, I have always believed that fiction tells a more layered and complete story of an earthshaking event than all television and newspaper reports combined.In Julie Lamana's novel of courage and survival, you don't just learn what happens to siblings trapped in the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, you feel it."— Nancy Lamb,author of The Art and Craft of Storytelling and The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children

"Whether it's about war, or terrorism, or natural disasters, I have always believed that fiction tells a more layered and complete story of an earthshaking event than all television and newspaper reports combined.In Julie Lamana's novel of courage and survival, you don't just learn what happens to siblings trapped in the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, you feel it."— Nancy Lamb,author of The Art and Craft of Storytelling and The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children

A Junior Library Guild Selection

A Junior Library Guild Selection

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"A story that will grab avid and reluctant readers alike."—School Library Journal

"A story that will grab avid and reluctant readers alike."—School Library Journal

"A story that will grab avid and reluctant readers alike."—School Library Journal

"An honest, bleak account of a national tragedy sure to inspire discussion and research."—Kirkus Reviews

"An honest, bleak account of a national tragedy sure to inspire discussion and research."—Kirkus Reviews

"An honest, bleak account of a national tragedy sure to inspire discussion and research."—Kirkus Reviews

"Can be used in the classroom to spark discussion of the local, state, and federal responses during and after Katrina."-VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates

"Can be used in the classroom to spark discussion of the local, state, and federal responses during and after Katrina."-VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates

"Can be used in the classroom to spark discussion of the local, state, and federal responses during and after Katrina."-VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates

"An enlightening glimpse into what life was like during Hurricane Katrina."—Library Media Connection

"An enlightening glimpse into what life was like during Hurricane Katrina."—Library Media Connection

"An enlightening glimpse into what life was like during Hurricane Katrina."—Library Media Connection

"A moving experience that readers will not soon forget."—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A moving experience that readers will not soon forget."—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A moving experience that readers will not soon forget."—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Accomplished debut. full of touching, distressing detail."-Booklist

From the Publisher

2014-01-15
As Armani Curtis' 10th birthday approaches, so does something far more ominous—a threatening storm in the Gulf of Mexico called Katrina. Armani's family, residents of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, doesn't have much in the way of material comforts, but they certainly have a strong and happy family, at least until Katrina blows in. During Armani's birthday party, the family is informed that the mayor has ordered an evacuation, but lacking the means to escape New Orleans, they must simply hunker down until the floodwaters force them to the roof. First, Armani's beloved grandmother dies, and then her father and brother are swept away by the floodwaters. When the rest of the Curtis clan makes its way to the Superdome, Mama must seek help for her sick baby boy, leaving Armani to get her two little sisters to a shelter until the family can be reunited. A couple of false notes notwithstanding, Lamana goes for and achieves realism here, carefully establishing the characters and setting before describing in brutal detail, beyond what is typical in youth literature, the devastating effects of Katrina—loss of multiple family members, reports of attacks in the Superdome, bodies drifting in the current and less-than-ideal shelter conditions. An honest, bleak account of a national tragedy sure to inspire discussion and research. (Historical fiction. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews