A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge  follows the true stories of several people affected by Hurricane Katrina.  It begins with the first hurricane warnings, and shows, with beautifully evocative drawings, what happens next.  The people are from all walks of life, and some stay in New Orleans, while others evacuate.  One story is about a shopkeeper and his friend, who stay behind to protect the store from looters, and to try to ride out the hurricane.  Another follows a multi-generational family of women, being moved from safe-haven to safe-haven, feeling the worst effects of mismanaged relief efforts.  Another follows a couple who evacuate but return to find their home destroyed.  Each narrative tells a different part of the larger story about Hurricane Katrina and its survivors.   

One of the things this book does well is using pictures to fill in the parts of the story that are not in the text.  In one example, the text reads “He drove down and got us.  He had to take back roads and double around a lot to get into the city, but somehow he did it,” while the drawing shows a man using a gun to hold back a desperate crowd, so that his family can get into his car.  In another drawing, the picture shows what happens to a pet, while the text describes the owner being ok.  The stories in the book are based on interviews with people who lived through the hurricane.   It is a touching story, and a great, fast read.               
 

Courtesy of flickr user udt_greenberet1123

The first meeting of the AV Club will be on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the Teen Lounge.

The Club will meet monthly and every meeting we will make a different media product from start to finish.  This month's project will be to make short movies in iMovie and it is going to be EPIC.

Come join us!

Marcelo sees the world differently from most high school kids, so when he makes a deal with his dad to work in a law firm mail room over the summer, he doesn’t know what to expect.  Marcelo’s form of autism makes it difficult for him to understand facial expressions, or to discern figurative meanings of words.  He is brilliant, especially when it comes to religion, but he is sheltered, and the fact that he often needs to think things over thoroughly makes others think that he is less intelligent than he is.  The law firm is a cutthroat world, and when Marcelo stumbles on a photograph he was never meant to see, it changes him and his perception of the world.

 Marcelo in the Real World  is a great story.  Marcelo is a wonderful character with an authentic voice, and this is the story of him growing up, with all that entails: learning about adult relationships, pondering the complex ethics of business, seeing ones parents as flawed for the first time, and making friends and enemies.  Marcelo is forced to make difficult choices, and along the way loses something he has always depended on. 

 

Courtesy of flickr user Dwayne Storey

Last night the creativity was flowing in the Teen Lounge.  Check out two songs created by Cassandra and another teen who wishes to remain anonymous.  They used Garageband to mix beats and create new and very awesome work!

If you would like your original music, art, videos or writing to be featured on our website, ask the Teen Lounge staff.