Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

As described on Goodreads: A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch s father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesn t show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn t much to save. Lately, Esch can t keep down what food she gets; she s fourteen and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull s new litter, dying one by one in the dirt, while brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child s play and short on parenting. As the twelve days that comprise the novel s framework yield to the final day and Hurricane Katrina, the unforgettable family at the novel s heartmotherless children sacrificing for each other as they can, protecting and nurturing where love is scarcepulls itself up to struggle for another day. A wrenching look at the lonesome, brutal, and restrictive realities