Logan's Storm

Publishers Weekly

Wall Street Journal writer and editor Wells (Meely LaBauve; Junior's Leg) takes his readers on a wild Southern roller-coaster ride in the final installment of his lighthearted Bayou trilogy, focusing on down-and-out widower Logan LaBauve as he tries to pull his life together despite some formidable opposition from law enforcement and the forces of nature. The former dominates LaBauve's maneuvers in the early going: he finds himself stuck in a swamp with his son Meely's friend, Chilly Cox, after an incident with the corrupt police in their Louisiana hamlet lands Meely in jail. Chilly and Logan escape, thanks to Catfish Annie Ancelet, who quickly becomes Logan's romantic interest for this installment. Annie helps Chilly line up a ride to return to his family in Tupelo, but when Logan tags along they get waylaid by two hitchhikers in an extended comedic sequence of cops-and-robbers. Wells shifts gears when Logan takes off for Florida with Annie to follow up on a job offer, but the lovers are stranded when a killer hurricane approaches. Wells is a pro when it comes to inserting plot twists and character foibles, although the romance seems prepackaged and overly gooey in the early going. The transition to the storm subplot is jarring, but Wells compensates with a strong, surprisingly affecting finish in which the stranded lovers try to rescue some local residents. Readers who have enjoyed the first two volumes will be sad to see this successful series come to an end, but Wells has done a fine job of whetting their appetites for his next literary adventure. Agents, Joe Regal and Timothy Seldes. (Sept. 10) Forecast: Wells who is on leave from the Wall Street Journal while he researches and writes a book about beer culture in America should have great stories to tell on the interview circuit and will surely charm readers on his five-city author tour through the South. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

This entertaining tale of courage and survival in the Louisiana Bayou (a sequel to Meely LaBauve) features Logan LaBauve, a down-on-his-luck local misfit, trying to flee to Mississippi in his canoe. Struggling through a snake and alligator-infested swamp, and the ever-present enemies of hunger and thirst, he and Chilly, his young black companion, have just rescued Logan's son Meely from a band of local thugs. The police are after Chilly, however, because he is black. Logan is scornful of "them law doggies," as he calls them, because of their racial prejudice. He reflects with characteristic humor, "If them ole boys' brains were eggs, you could crack open a dozen of 'em and not get much to scramble." Logan's adventures include encounters with a number of eccentric bayou characters, including the superstitious Miz DeeDee, the educated thief Professor Burl, and Lester Benoit, the braggart deputy sheriff. It is Annie Ancelet, however, who saves Logan from a band of marauding thieves, and who brings love once again to his grieving heart. The two must first survive Hurricane Belva, a killer storm that barrels up the coast and almost kills them and some local islanders they try to rescue. Logan narrates his own story with straightforward honesty and self-deprecating humor, confessing that "I been a drinkin' man and a sinner..." The reader knows, however, that Logan's fondness for the bottle stems from his grief over the death of his beloved wife and newborn child seven years earlier. He says, "When Elizabeth died, I fell like the moon yanked from the sky and thrown down into a dark, dark field." His story proves that there is no difference between rich and poor, literate and unlettered,in the way a man experiences the primary emotions of love, grief, and fear. Logan remains to the end a humble, self-effacing man. His courage and compassion are uncomplicated by feelings of envy or self-pity, and win him quick redemption for the "sins" he so readily confesses. The first-person narration provides the reader with an inside tour of the colorful bayou environment, and a rare insight into the wonders of the human heart. (Catahoula Bayou trilogy). KLIATT Codes: SA-Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2002, Random House, 290p., Ages 15 to adult.
— Phyllis LaMontagne

Library Journal

Set in Louisiana in the early 1960s, this novel takes up where Wells's fine first novel, Meely LeBauve, left off, recounting the adventures of Meely's alligator-hunting father, Logan, and friend Chilly after a run-in with the law has resulted in Logan's shooting up a police car. Escaping into the swamp, the pair brave the elements while avoiding pursuing law officers, making their way to the town of Pierre Point with the help of a friendly oil company employee. Here, Logan meets Annie Ancelet, an attractive widow who shares something of his swamp-rat ways. Through her contacts, the pair continue on to Chilly's family in Tupelo, MS. The smitten Logan soon returns to see Annie, who offers him a ride to Florida, where he will be safe working on an alligator farm. Along the way, however, they encounter the savage fury of Hurricane Belva. With a tale redolent of the bayou and conjuring the ghost of Mark Twain, Wall Street Journal writer Wells has concocted another winner. Recommended for public libraries.-Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, Andover, MA

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Picking up the story from Junior's Leg (Random, 2001), Logan LaBauve narrates this set of adventures. He teams up with Chilly Cox, a young black man, and they set out to cross the Great Catahoula Swamp. The local police are after both men for helping Chilly's friend Meely, whom these same police officers had mistreated. The two make it across the Catahoula, incurring misadventures with various swamp critters, including some humans. They finally reach Mississippi, where Chilly finds a safe house with relatives. Logan meets Annie Ancelet, and they become lovers. They are bound for Florida and a gator-farming job for him when they are caught in Hurricane Belva. While the first sections of the book dwell on escape from the law, the last one features action as Annie and Logan battle for survival against the storm. Logan's fortitude provides the courage, endurance, and will to keep going, and Annie proves to be his mirror image. The author expertly describes the beauty and reality of the swamp and the storm, conjuring scenes worthy of the action accompanying them. Although the story can stand alone, it provides a satisfying end to the trilogy. Teens who enjoyed either of the previous novels will want to read this one.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.