A LONG WALK TO WATER by Linda Sue Park

A.R. Book Level: 5.0
A.R. Points: 3.0
Pages: 121

I LOVED this book, but it definitely has some very serious parts and pretty violent parts.  Two narrators tell their stories, which are happening at two different times in the same region of Africa.  Salva is an 11-year-old boy in Sudan in 1985 when the Sudanese civil war drives him from his home.  He walks with a group of strangers, searching for safety, for years and through several different countries.  Nya is a young girl in Sudan in 2008 who has to walk to the nearest pond and back twice a day (8 hours total) to bring her family water.  You’ll be surprised and thrilled by how their stories finally connect, but you need to be ready for some scary and sad parts because Salva’s story (based on a true story) can be really awful sometimes.  At 121 pages, this book is a speed read.