Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Hay libros que me hacen pensar (reconocer) que tengo muy poca empatía por hechos reales en los libros. Por ejemplo, Another Kind of Hurricane está inspirado en lo que fue el huracán Katrina hace unos años, me interesó mucho la idea de este libro cuando leí la parte publicitaría. Además, middle grade, libros que hasta ahora he amado con toda mi alma, los libros con/para niños como protagonistas, me han dejado bastante contenta y con ganas de leer más de los escritores. Lamentablemente no pasó exactamente lo mismo con el debut de Tamara Ellis Smith.

Cuando empecé a bloggear y reseñar, algo que hacía era al final de mi reseña ponerle una puntuación a los tres primeros capítulos. Cómo cosa curiosa tiempo después me enteré que eso es exactamente lo que muchos editores hacen al aceptar proyectos, estoy destinada a ser editora (?). En fin, lo que quiero decir es que si tan solo juzgara al libro por esos primeros capítulos, ni siquiera lo hubiera terminado. Y no es por mala narración o personajes planos, Another Kind of Hurricane es un buen libro debut, solo que no logró despertar ningún tipo de interés o simpatía en mí en esos primeros capítulos. Y eso que la escritora va directo al punto, el primer capítulo es sobre Zavion en pleno huracán y su casa viéndose abajo seguido por Henry a punto de sepultar a su amigo. ¿Por qué se me hizo tan difícil conectar con los personajes al principio? No tengo idea, quizás haya sido un mal momento para leerlo.

Mientras el libro va avanzando, va cambiando también de perspectivas y es ahí cuando recién empiezo a interesarme por la historia. Me encariñé más con los personajes secundarios que con los principales, se me hicieron mucho más interesantes.

Another Kind of Hurricane te habla sobre como todo en la vida está conectado, crueles a veces, las cosas suceden por una razón, aunque pueda tomarnos un buen tiempo el entender el por qué. Quizá no haya sido mi favorito, pero eso no quiere decir que no pueda ser el tuyo.

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Henry lives in Vermont, and his best friend was killed in a hiking accident while out on an excursion with him. Zavion lives in New Orleans, and his home is completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
The first half of the book alternates between the two boys unrelated stories.
But when Henry's "magic" marble that he shared with his late friend is left in the pocket of a pair of pants that his mother donates to help hurricane victims in Louisiana, Henry is determined to get it back. One guess who ends up with that pair of pants.
The second half of the book is after the two boys meet.
There were some nice touches, but several drawbacks kept this book from being a favorite. An impossible coincidence can be a compelling plot device, but it is difficult to pull off believably. Henry's meeting Zavion, who now has his marble, wasn't very believable. Henry often came across as an obnoxious jerk. Not always, but enough to be a drawback. And finally there was the strange and unnecessary inclusion of a talking parrot near the end of the book. A parrot who did not in any way behave like a real bird, or talk like a real parrot.
Good enough to be worth finishing once I'd started it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. ( )

The world, itself, seems to bring together Henry, whose best friend died near their home in the mountains of Vermont, and Zavion, who lost his home in Hurricane Katrina, so that the boys can help each other heal. ( )

Two boys, Henry from Vermont, Zavion from New Orleans, experience Hurricane Katrina in very different ways. They have both been struggling with the death of someone close, even before the hurricane. Their individual stories intertwine because of a lost marble.
For me Zavion's struggle was totally compelling. His anxiousness to do the right thing permeates all he does and feels. The supporting characters, for both storylines, all have wonderful dimension to them. ( )

Very likeable children's book about two boys Zavion and Henry, who are brought together through tragedy. For Zavion, it is the terrible and sudden destruction of his house and home, New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, coming only three short years after the death of his mother. For Henry, it is the tragic death of his best friend Wayne while they are camping on a mountain. It is a "lucky" marble left in Henry's jeans when they are donated to the Hurricane Katrina victims, that brings the two protagonists together more than half way through the novel.
Students from year 5 upward would enjoy this book, but I found myself much more engaged with Henry's tragedy than Zavion's. I also thought the authour could have worked a little more on character introduction. For example, I did not grasp that Osprey was a very young child for a long time; I thought she was a mentally ill person (the child has a waterig can tied to a lead and treats it like a dog.). I also thought that the character of Jack (Wayne's father ) was well developed; whereas Zavion's father Ben was very shallow.
That being said though, the book moved at a constant pace and had a nice, realistic ending. ( )