When The River Rises - Softcover

Walker, D.C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1942734042 ISBN 13: 9781942734048

Publisher: Mastermind Comics, 2015

Synopsis

Inspired By True Events. For the first time in 15 years, inmate Russell Gates is glad to be behind bars. Despite the daily dangers at Orleans Parish Prison, the walls offer protection from Hurricane Katrina churning up the coast. Across town, his estranged son Sydquan is being herded aboard a bus with thirty other juvenile delinquents...to be stashed at the OPP for safety's sake. A violent struggle to survive ensues after the prison floods and the prisoners escape from their cells, leading to a thrilling chase from the prison to the depths of the Lower Ninth Ward. With art from Bruno Oliveira (FALLOUT).

About this title

About the Author

D.C. Walker is an LA-based graphic novelist and children's writer. Born in West Germany and raised abroad. His list of works includes FALLOUT, LAST CONFESSION, WHEN THE RIVER RISES, THE MATCHMAKER'S DAUGHTER and the GRAYSON STOKES series.

Reviews

Gr 10 Up—This hard-hitting graphic novel was inspired by the true events that occurred at the Orleans Parish Prison Complex during Hurricane Katrina. It is August 2005, and inmate Russell Gates is ordered to begin boarding up windows because a massive storm is coming. His estranged 16-year-old son, Sydquan, is incarcerated across town at a juvenile detention center, locked up for a crime he didn't commit, but remains in custody because he refuses to snitch and name the actual culprit. The boy is shipped out by bus, together with all his fellow juvenile offenders, to arrive at the same facility as his father to ride out the hurricane. Father and son meet in a food line at the prison, and Sydquan wants nothing to do with his dad, but when the prison floods, the two work together (reluctantly on the boy's part) to survive the rising, sewage-laden water, the violence of the escaping prisoners, and, eventually, the turmoil of devastated downtown New Orleans. The dialogue is gritty, realistic, and completely understandable. This work is best for older teens because of the hefty dose of salty language and gun violence. The artwork is crisp and clean, using black-and-white illustrations consisting of detailed line drawings and silhouettes that portray a wide range of both emotion and action. VERDICT Pair with the nonfiction title A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld (Pantheon, 2009) for a truly powerful graphic description of the undeniable chaos and courage triggered by Hurricane Katrina.—Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT

Edition details

• Publisher: Mastermind Comics
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1942734042
• ISBN 13: 9781942734048
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Oliveira Bruno
• Number of pages: 172