Park, L. (2010) A long walk to water.New York: Clarion Books





A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about a girl in Sudan in 2008 and a boy in Sudan in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the "lost boys" of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nyas in an astonishing and moving way.  I read this entire book while fishing with my two boys one Saturday afternoon. I wanted to cry many times during this book while watching my sons play with each other while fishing on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi. Okay, so it's pretty unusual for me to cry while reading a book; it's always the happy parts that make me cry and to think about if this were to happen to my family. This book is based on a true story, which makes it even better and more interesting.

This is my first book about the lost boys of Sudan, and this book is really good. I liked that it was short, to the point, had a wonderful ending, yet still captured the trauma of Salva's experience of fleeing his family and his village, walking hundreds of miles to Ethiopia, and then spending six years in a refugee camp only to be returned to Sudan.

The other character, Nya, played only a small role in this book, but her story is one that is so touching and interesting: walking eight hours a day, every day, to get water for her family. She cannot go to school since she spends her time getting water.

Salva and Nya's stories are told in alternating chapters. Nya's chapters are short (sometimes only a page or two) and in brown ink. Salva's chapters are longer and in black ink. And, of course, Nya and Salva are connected. They have to be or having them in the same book would be strange. About three quarters into the book the reader figures out how their paths will cross, but it still made me so happy.

The theme of this book would have to be being able to control anger and hurt. The pain that these two young children had to endure during this long journey would be enough to drive someone insane, but they were able to keep their composer and conquer their goal. The setting for both of the children are in the dry dessert and the heat was something that was unbearable at times. The story for both of them was told in first person point of view and gave descriptions of what was going on through out the book.   

The way that this book can be related to a real world situation would have to be that if you feel once there is no need of giving up. I f you look at the Roman empire they did not build Rome in a day it took a long time to build Rome and this was what these two young children were able to do was fight through trials throughout their life.

The Big Question?

How do you conquer your fears?