What a timely read! As Hurricane Isaac approached New Orleans, I read this book about Hurricane Katrina's arrival in the same city. In 2005, Saint Louis Armstrong Beach is an 11-year-old who plays the clarinet in the streets to earn money to buy a LeBlanc clarinet. One thing Saint knows for sure is "that most important stuff comes in more than one part. Things like skateboards, bicycles, computers, houses, cars, and life. Life is made of this little invisible thing called time that we watch disappear into weeks, years that we track like greyhounds or K-9 dogs, and centuries that move so slowly that they may as well be standing still." As for Saint, his "life has 3 parts, the before, the during, and the after...the during sure was hard...the during is also known as Hurricane Katrina." Saint's dad is a chef at a famous restaurant and his mom is a social worker. His best friend is a girl, Money (Mona Lisa) Lafayette, who is older than he is and just discovering boys, booze, and parties. Saint's mom delays their departure to help people at the hospital. Saint is separated from his family to find Shadow and is a hero when he saves Ms. Moran's life.
"Hard work makes time move with dispatch."
"Money don't make you cool."
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