Illustrated by Donald Saaf
"I come from a line of hardworking people who never made much money but were rich in stories. My family's roots are very important to me. When you're looking for stories, look to your own heart."
-KWH
Kimberly’s Newest Book
Available August 29, 2023
"The girls’ slowly deepening understanding of themselves gives this book its heart. Like their rebuilt city, this friendship cannot reconstitute as an exact replica of what they had before…. Holt takes time developing these characters, allowing readers to see both their individual and collective growth in this appealing and sensitive novel."―The Horn Book, starred review
As most of you know, a story goes through many rewrites and proofreads before a book is published. Even then, a book can have mistakes. One mistyped digit can make a difference to a story. Unfortunately, that is what happened in THE HURRICANE GIRLS with a reference to the date Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. My early drafts referenced the correct date of August 29, but somewhere along the many rewrites, I inadvertently typed August 23, and sadly it was not caught when fact-checked. I'm deeply sorry for the oversight. That date is too important to get wrong.
We knew the date was the 29th—it is the reason the book will be released on the anniversary of that date. August 29 changed the course of many people's lives. Please know that the date will be corrected for the reprint and the ebook will be corrected immediately. My only hope is that despite the mistake, my love for New Orleans and the people there rings true throughout my story's pages, and that you, dear readers, will understand this typo was a human error.