“It was the rainy season. Swollen by the rains, the Gilo’s current would be merciless. The Gilo was well known for something else, too. Crocodiles.”
Summary:
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 Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.
My Thoughts:
Recently, I have been reading YA focusing diversity. It has been a heart-wrenching journey filled with happy and sad tears. While a popular read, I had never come across A Long Walk to Water until I was looking under “The Immigrant Experience” at my local bookstore. There it lay right next to The Distance Between Us and I Am Malala.
A Long Walk to Water is a story of two eleven-year-olds in Africa. A boy, Salva, in 1985 and a girl, Nya, in 2008 tell their stories in alternating sections, literally. Each chapter opens with a short piece from Nya and then continues with the main story focusing on Salva.
Salva’s village is attacked, he joins a group of people walking away from the danger. He faces hardships like the elements and wildlife while becoming one of the “lost boys” of Sudan. The boys search for safety and their families before finding a stable refugee camp. By luck or fate, Salva ends up in NYC.
Nya is a young girl who must walk hours to get water for her family, not once but twice a day. People in her village get sick regularly from the lack of clear water. She can’t understand why men are claiming to make clean water come from the ground in her village. The construction seems pointless to her as she walks for water.
I can’t tell you how it ends, but it is so worth reading to find out.
Should you read A Long Walk to Water?
I defiantly recommend everyone to read A Long Walk to Water, Read it! I promise not a minute of your time will be wasted.
Do you plan to read A Long Walk To Water? Have you donated or been involved in fundraising for Water for South Sudan? Tell me about it!
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