Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

All is quiet in the simple neighborhood known as the "ninth ward" of the city of New Orleans in August, 2008, but Mama Ya-Ya senses that a powerful storm is approaching.  Mama Ya-Ya is a deeply spiritual woman who senses the changes in nature and believes in the power and the messages of her dreams.   She's brought up Lanesha since her mother died in childbirth and her relatives abandoned her.  Lanesha has the power to see ghosts who talk to her, even the ghost of her own mother in the bedroom upstairs.    One by one, neighbors leave their homes to find safety elsewhere, but Mama Ya-Ya refuses to leave.  Lanesha and her school friend TaShon ride out the storm with Mama Ya-Ya and their newly found pet, a dog named Spot.  When the storm dies down and the great flood threatens their house, Lanesha and TaShon must use every ounce of courage in order to survive.