A Long Walk to Water: A Novel Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 2010.
Middle grade realistic fiction, 121 pages.
Lexile: 720L .
AR Level: 5.0 (worth 3.0 points) .
Southern Sudan, 2008: Nya is a young girl who, for seven months of the year, spends every day walking to a nearby pond and bringing a heavy plastic container back to her family. After a brief stop for lunch, she repeats the task in the afternoon. Every day.
Southern Sudan, 1985: Salva is a young boy displaced by the wars and drought that are sweeping through the Sudan. He, too, walks for miles every day, but without a lunch, home, or destination. He walks with the hope of survival, unlikely for a young Sudanese boy alone in the world.
This book has been on my TBR for a while, but originally I was under the impression it was non-fiction. The afterword has notes from both Salva Dut and author Linda Sue Park, explaining how the story was based on his life, using interviews, personal conversations, and his writings to keep the fictionalized story as close as possible to what actually happened.
