A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

I started reading this book because it looked like a quick read and was set in Sudan, an area I did not know much about. I had heard about the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, but was not very familiar with the history behind them. Plus, I loved Linda Sue Park’s A Single Shard, which earned her a Newbery Medal.

 This book is a dual narrative, meaning two different characters alternated in the telling of their stories.  One story, which begins in 2008,  follows an eleven-year-old girl named Nya who has to walk eight hours every day to fetch water for her family.  Because there is no water close by, she has to bring her pail to a pond far away.  It is not always so difficult on the walk to the pond when the pail is empty, but the walk home is challenging and hot, especially as she tries to avoid the thorny plants that often stick into her bare feet. On the way home, she places a padded cloth doughnut on top of her head, rests the container on top of the doughnut, and holds it all in place with her hand.  Her tribe, the  Nuer, often fought with the rival Dinka tribe over the land surrounding a lake where they both shared water, and Nya’s mother always worries for the safety of her family.

Salva’s story begins in 1985, where the eleven-year-old lives in southern Sudan as part of the Dinkan tribe.  Civil war had  begun two years earlier.  Most of the people who lived in the north were Muslim and practiced the beliefs of Islam, and the government wanted all of Sudan to become Muslim. But the people in the south practiced different religions and did not want to be forced to practice Islam.  One day when shots rang out during school, Salva was forced to run away to a refugee camp, many miles from home and his family.  Salva tells his story as he travels miles and miles from camp to camp, trying to stay safe and find his family.

Both stories are gripping, and the point where the stories interconnect is heartwarming and satisfying.  Both main characters are likable and the reader empathizes with both as they face their struggles.  I highly recommend this book, which is based on the true story of Salva Dut’s life.