A Long Walk to Water

Reader’s Review

This is a riveting but unsettling account of two children in Sudan, both 11 years old. One is a little girl in 2008 who must trek much of the day, each day, to get clean water for her family. The other is a young boy, separated from his family in 1985, and forced to walk astonishing distances across the plains of Africa with other boys as they struggle to survive. There are many worthy themes that are worth discussing including the value of clean water, gratitude, war, the plights of refugees, and so much more. The writing and story will engage and captivate audiences of all ages, and the unique ending is worth waiting for, but there is a lot of violence and death that Salva (the young boy) must witness, and as a result this book may be too disturbing for some readers.

To look out for

• Violence: Salva must run away from his village alone when rebels come in and begin shooting. The civil war results in bombing and burnings, and there are many soldiers with guns and machetes, some of them children who are forced to fight. The boys who walk suffer great thirst and hunger. Salva sees people die of thirst, his friend is eaten by a lion, and he watches his uncle get shot and die. At one point the refugees are forced into the water, and some are shot while others are eaten by crocodiles.