Strong family ties help share history, pass on tradition, grow cultural identity, provide emotional support, impart life lessons, and give a sense of community and belonging. All these elements inform an individual’s sense of self. In Zane and the Hurricane, characters have differing points of view about “blood” family, but all ultimately agree it is a vital presence in their lives.

Malvina believes that “blood” is the definition of family at its most essential level, but her closest blood family members are not actually blood relatives—they are Tru and Zane. Malvina chooses them as family because they have proven their loyalty and friendship to her. Their bond with Malvina is greater than her bond with her mother: Malvina’s blood family let her down. Her chosen blood family is nurturing and supportive. Malvina holds them close—they, along with her connection to her neighborhood and sense of place, help make her the strong individual she is.

Zane’s mom believes it is imperative he connect with a blood relative from his father’s side. Growing up without his father, Zane not only lacks a male role model, but he also lacks a connection to his father’s racial heritage. Both deficits are evident in Zane’s initial, self-deprecatory comment that he is a “mutt” (1).