“This is not a test. This is the real deal” (p.37). At 10:03pm on August 27, 2005, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin encouraged the residents of New Orleans to evacuate. Less than an hour later, the wrath of Katrina began. Residents were forced to make a potentially life altering choice – leave and hope or stay and lose. Residents, who chose to leave, quickly packed their most cherished items, while those who chose to stay, gathered food, first aid supplies, and guns to fend off looters.
In A.D., Neufeld depicts the reality of Katrina through the eyes of seven different New Orleans residents. Denise, Abbas, Darnell, and Brobson (The Doctor) chose to ignore evacuation warnings while Leo, his wife, Michelle, and Kwane and his family heed warnings and leave New Orleans.
Denise and her family are told they have a room at the local hospital where her mom works, but once they arrive, they learn that their room has been given away. Denise goes home and barely survives the night. The next day Denise and her family head to the Super Dome. Denise describes the conditions and problems surrounding the Super Dome and discusses how supposed “thugs” were more helpful than the U.S. National Guard.
Abbas and Darnell decide the stay because they think it will be cool to be in New Orleans when Katrina hits. They stay in Abbas’ store. Every few hours they have to move their supplies and themselves to higher ground due to the flooding. When they are stationed on the roof, a boat comes by and offers to bring them to safety, but the men decline. They want to wait it out.
Brobson (The Doctor) stays behind primarily because he is not concerned with Katrina. He is older and has lived through several hurricanes. He is so nonchalant about the whole thing that he throws a hurricane party. In the after math, Brobson plays a key role in helping survivors.
Leo and his wife leave New Orleans and head to Houston. They pack up some clothes and their dogs. Leo is apprehensive about leaving his large, valuable comic book collection. He briefly toys with the idea of moving the boxes to higher ground, but in the end, decides not to.
Kwane and his family head to Tallahassee, Florida to stay with his older brother at college. Kwane’s father is a local pastor and he is stressed about what will happen when people return to New Orleans. Kwane and his family pray for safety and hope that all will be well in New Orleans. As the storm worsens, Kwane’s family begins to realize they may not be going home for awhile.
A.D. is a superbly drawn and written graphic novel. Neufeld uses lots of colors to show changes and emotions. A.D. would be great for students who do not enjoy reading novels. It could easily work as a book to introduce students to different types of books and could lead to a love of reading. I would recommend this book for mature middle school students or high school students. There is some inappropriate language and I worry that some middle school students would be too immature to look past it and read the story. This book might also attract readers who have experienced some sort of natural disaster and they may be able to relate to some of the characters and their feelings. In addition, A.D. could also be used in conjunction with a history lesson on Katrina or other natural disasters that the U.S. has experienced.
Whether you experienced Katrina directly or indirectly, this book will hit home. A must read that shows Katrina in a new light!
