Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi

Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi is a touching book. It takes place in New Orleans when hurricane Katrina hits the city. The main character, Miles, his father, and his uncle got stuck in the city when their truck broke down, and they had to go to the Super Dome. They went through many adventures and finally learned the true meaning of family. This book talks about how a father and a son don't really understand each other or love each other, but as the story continues they find love while enduring pain.

At the beginning of the story, the two don't understand each other. Miles' father is a jazz musician and that is the one and only thing he cares about in the world, while Miles only cared about football and his dreams about being a pro athlete. These two drives clashed, as exemplified in one chapter of the story when, for Miles' birthday, instead of receiving a football from his father, he received an African drum. Also, his father acted distant around his son, always thinking about his trumpet first and Miles later. "Pops," as Miles calls him, even pushed Miles to get a job at "Pharaohs," the jazz club where Pops played.

When they are in the Super Dome, they start to understand each other a little better and start to be a little more selfless. One of these moments is when Dunam and Caine, two gangsters, come and threaten to burn down the row that Miles and his family live in unless they pay them. Miles stood up and talked to them and soon after his father was protecting his son. When a few others were getting ready to fight, Miles payed Dunam and Caine and made them leave, so that his father and everyone else wouldn't get hurt.

They started to finally love each other and understand each other when they escaped the Super Dome as they were trying to find Pharaohs. They saw two men stealing a piano and a suit of armor from a different jazz club. As they went to fight them, Miles beat up the first one, but the second one was very strong and almost killed Miles. His father used his prized trumpet to hit the man over the head and save Miles. Afterwards, Miles’ father told Miles that he couldn't lose his son no matter what. Miles then took the piano back to the jazz club so that his father could rest easy about it being safe.

In conclusion, Hurricane Song teaches us that while we have fights with our parents sometimes, and we tell ourselves we hate them, we eventually find that we love them and they love us. Miles and Pops disagreed about lifestyles, one believing that sports were what mattered most and the other valuing music above all else.   Through their experience in the hurricane, Miles and Pops realize that family is the most valued thing in their lives.