Hurricane Katrina sets a teenage girl adrift. But a new life -- and
the promise of love -- emerges in this rich, highly readable debut.
Bayou Perdu, a tiny fishing town way, way down in Louisiana, is home to
sixteen-year-old Evangeline Riley. She has her best friends, Kendra and
Danielle; her wise, beloved Mamere; and back-to-back titles in the
under-sixteen fishing rodeo. But, dearest to her heart, she has the
peace that only comes when she takes her skiff out to where there is
nothing but sky and air and water and wings. It's a small life, but it
is Evangeline's. And then the storm comes, and everything changes. Amid
the chaos and pain and destruction comes Tru -- a fellow refugee, a
budding bluesman, a balm for Evangeline's aching heart. Told in a
strong, steady voice, with a keen sense of place and a vivid cast of
characters, here is a novel that asks compelling questions about class
and politics, exile and belonging, and the pain of being cast out of
your home. But above all, this remarkable debut tells a gently woven
love story, difficult to put down, impossible to forget.