HURRICANE

Trueman strains credulity in his fictional recounting of the devastation wrought upon Honduras by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The first-person narrator is 13-year-old Jose Cruz whose family lives in a typically small but close-knit village. One very rainy day his older sister, father and much-idolized older brother make the 17-mile drive to the main business area. As the storm worsens, Jose and the rest of the family hear the radio announcement that the storm is now a Category 5 hurricane. While Jose and Mama pretend their missing family members are fine, a mudslide obliterates every house in the village—except the Cruz’s and one other one. Many friends have died. Jose and others organize the many necessary and gruesome tasks for continuing survival. Still, Jose’s younger brother nearly dies from an infection due to conditions. After five days of uncertainty, Trueman reunites every member of the Cruz family, including the family dog, to survive—thus, ending things quite tidily. Reluctant readers may enjoy the plot-driven story of continual peril, but it probably won’t leave any lasting impression. (Fiction. 8-11)