Linda Sue Park

1985. A little eleven year old boy, Salva, ends up separating from his family because of the Sudanese war.
2008. A little eleven year old girl, Nya, ends up unable to enjoy her childhood or go to school because the task of fetching water for her family everyday is hers.

Two different time periods. Two different struggles. But two equally challenging young lives.

Through the dual narrative from the points of view of Salva and Nya, we get a glimpse into the troubles of the Sudanese children. Salva is one of the "Lost Boys", the name given to a group of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups. These boys were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Some of the events mentioned are unbelievably horrid but, as the tagline reminds us, the book is based on a true story. Salva Dut is not a fictional character.

The author, Linda Sue Park, is a Korean-American. The story of Salva the character is based on the life of Salva Dut who lives in Rochester, New York, not far away from Park's residence. Park learned of Dut several years ago when her husband, a journalist, began writing about Dut’s non-profit 'Water for Sudan' project, which drills wells to bring clean drinking water to residents in southern Sudan’s remote villages.

While everything in Salva’s story is true, Park admits to toning down some of the graphic details witnessed along his journey out of Sudan. Some events are simply too horrific to believe. If this is the toned down version, I wonder what further horrors Salva might have encountered on his long road to freedom...… (mere)

"A Long Walk to Water" is a work of historical fiction and history. The narrative swaps between Salva's story, which is the true one, set in the 1980s during the civil war in Sudan. He gets separated from his family and village because of the fighting, and goes on to be one of the "Lost Boys." The other narrative is a work of historical fiction that features Nya in the early 2000s when different organizations try to bring peace and life-changing infrastructure to the people of Sudan. Nya has to walk miles twice a day to retrieve water for her family; Salva has to walk miles to safety after war breaks out in his village.

The story was short and to the point, but a great personal narrative that was just in-depth enough to make the tragedy of what was happening in Sudan a reality to modern readers. Details are not sugar-coated; they are blunt, but they are real.

It's a great work of historical fiction.… (mere)