Reading Response on the book Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi

          Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi, is a book about a kid named Miles who moved to live with his Pop in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina changed his life forever. Miles, his Pop, and his uncle all ended up in the crowded Superdome. There is very bad conditions such as bad living conditions, not enough food, gangs, and not enough bathrooms. They also lose all there freedom to come and go places.

     

          In the beginning of the book, Miles and his pop ( Doc ) weren't that close. Pop cared about his horn more than he did about Miles. It was weird to me because Miles has been living his entire life with his mother, and he barely spends time with his father - but yet they still dont get along. But, by the end of the book their relationship got closer, and better.

     

           In the middle of the book - while there in the Superdome, Miles says " It wasn't a big space between us, but it felt like it was from one end of a football field to the other." I think what Miles is trying to say is that even though Miles is sitting right next to his Pop, their relationship felt farther away. I really like when Miles says that because Miles is the kind of person who keeps their feelings bottled up ; and it's nice to hear that he is expressing his feelings. When Miles says that, it shows to me that he wants his relationship with his Pop to be better. But I was disappointed when I realized he didn't say it to his father.        

          

         At the end of the book, when Miles is hugging his Pop he says " There wasn't any space between, and for once every part of me felt close to him." When Miles says there wasn't any space between him and his Pop, I think he's trying to say that his and his Pop's relationship has grew/ became stronger through out the entire time they has spent with each other. Also, when Miles says "for once every part of me felt close to him," I think what he's trying to say is that a hug was all he needed to see that his Pop actually cared and loved him more than his music.

      

          Another way Miles knew that his Pop loved him more than his music was when they had a fight with the looters. In the fight, Pop's horn got bent and messed up, but when the looters ran away Pop didn't care about the horn, he asked Miles if he was okay. That really shows to Miles and us the readers that Pop is truly loving and that he really cares about Miles more than his music. I think he Pop just doesn't have a good way of showing his love towards Miles.

     

           Overall, Miles now knows that his Pop really cares about him. Throughout the book Miles and his Pop's relationship changed in a good way, their relationship grew and now they're so much closer. I was hoping that at the end of the book Miles will tell his Pop what he thinks of him ; but I guess he didn't need to because everything for solved. I think what changed them and helped there relationship was the Superdome, because they were together the whole time - trapped in a crowded area, so they learned how to deal with each other.

 

           In the begining of the book I HATED Pops ! He seemed so rude and mean ! I hated how he paid more attention to his music, and cared for his music more than he did for his OWN son ! I dislike parents like that, they get me so mad ! I was also mad at Miles' mother for letting him go to New Orleans to live with his Pop, I was like "REALLY?!" Ugh, but I'm glad things worked out in the end. I actually liked the whole ending when they had the fight with the looters ; it showed the readers that Miles and his Pop could get along afterall.

           
       

           I can relate to this book because I don't have a very good relationship with my mom, we don't get along, so it was nice for me to know that I wasn't the only kid out there who doesn't get along with their parent/ parents. There is those times where I feel really close to my mom just like Miles when he was hugging his dad. But there are also those times where we just fight constantly like in some of the parts in the book between Miles and his Pop.