Hurricane

A riveting true story of survival, resilience, compassion and determination. Salvador's story of Hurricane Maria and the aftermath will capture young minds. Salvador was fifteen years old when Hurricane Maria left widespread devastation across the island of Puerto Rico. Salvador was determined to help the people of his island and launched a massive fundraising campaign online to get solar lights and hand cranked washing machines for families without power. The author brings his experiences to life on the page and shares his journey from just before the hurricane to a year later when power is finally restored to the island and its people. Salvador's genuine drive to help his community serves as a guide to young people on the power they have to make a difference in the world even at a young age. Salvador's story should act as a role model for students who believe in the power of helping others and who can change the world even as a teenager. A must read for all young readers.

I remember when Hurricane Maria hit. I was sitting at work, listening to the news with my coworkers, one of who was a descendant of Puerto Rico. Just hearing about it was devastating so I can only imagine what Salvador himself and his family witnessed and experienced.

I loved hearing how he made it his duty to help others and came up with a great invention of two things we take for granted: light and washing machines. He was only 15 when he did this and that is just amazing to me! I loved hearing about his mission and how he was able to help so many people.

This was definitely a powerful, and eye opening read.

This follows the story of a boy who had just turned 15 years old days before Hurricane Maria hit his apartment building in Puerto Rico. We immediately are shown how drastic the conditions of this hurricane truly were. As soon as the hurricane begins flooding in the apartment is chaotic and dangerous. Shortly after the hurricane begins the family decides to evacuate their apartment and get to the ground level where it will be safer for them. After the storm has passed we are shown how everything in this families apartment had pretty much been destroyed beyond repair, and then we are shown the damage that the hurricane had caused outside their apartment building. I feel as though this is a very important story, and am thrilled that this story is written in middle grade because the younger generation definitely needs this kind of knowledge and content in their literature. This nonfiction tells a raw story about the difficulties of rebuilding after a natural disaster, especially when you are in a territory that is not being given enough aid to deal with the rebuilding of society.

This is the true story of Salvador Gómez-Colón, who was just fifteen years old when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. The book details his experiences during the hurricane and how he helped people living in his community and beyond to recover. Salvador realized people needed light and clean clothing to meet their most basic needs, so he started a crowdfunded campaign to fund the purchase of solar lamps and hand powered washing machines to distribute to those in need. Salvador’s story is a powerful and engaging example of activism and community service for middle grade students. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next in this new series of books.

"Everyone had been impacted by Hurricane Maria in some shape or form. Everyone. One of the things that I learned from this experience was that a powerful storm does not discriminate, only the response to the storm does." -Salvator Gomez-Colon

"Hurricane" gives readers a glimpse of the massive destruction Hurricane Maria wreaked upon Puerto Rico, as well as Gomez-Colon's influential response in helping people from various communities gain access to necessities. I think the readability is great for all ages, as the language is clear, concise, and engaging. At the end of the book, there was a timeline outlining all of the events mentioned in the book in the context of some other things happening in the world during this time. I appreciated that because it gives an alternate way to view the series of events.