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jenmangler's review against another edition
4.0
A short, powerful read. I especially liked how the stories of Salva & Nya intersected in a way that shows how we're all connected. This book introduces a very difficult topic to younger readers in a way that will grab their attention without overwhelming them. And it really makes you appreciate so many little things we often take for granted - a bed to sleep in, clean water to drink, several sets of clothes to wear, and daily life without the fear of being attacked or invaded or pushed out.
sereia8's review against another edition
5.0
A poignant story about one of the lost boys of Sudan, based on a true story. Beautifully done.
goodolmc's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
elysia_16's review against another edition
5.0
Ever heard the saying, 'Don't judge a book by its cover.' Well if you have then A Long Walk To Water is one of those books. The book is based on a true story and is Historical Fiction. This book is heart-wrenching and joyful at the same time. A Long Walk To Water (to me) has an Amazing ending!
A Long Walk To Water has two stories in one. Both people live in Sudan. Nya's part of the story is pretty simple to understand and the time period is in 2008. Nya fetches water for her family twice a day. She wants to have water that is clean, not muddy or dirty. Even though Nya and her tribe, the Nuer tribe, want clean, good water they can't because that kind of water doesn't really exist in Sudan. So Nya is stuck bringing back water for her family twice a day. Then around the ending of the story an amazing 'something(s)' happens. Salva's story is a bit more 'complicated'. His part of the story takes place in 1985, 1991, 1992-1996, 1996-2003 (these dates are in the book for Salva's part of the story) , and finally 2003-2007. Salva travels from Southern Sudan to Ethiopia to Kenya and finally goes to Rochester New York. Salva wants his family. He's separated from them because of the 'Second Sudanese Civil War'. Even though he desperately searches for his family, he can't find them. So he travels with a group for days and days and many adventures/obstacles block his path. Then after walking from Sudan to Ethiopia to Kenya and after many accomplishments and losses, Salva becomes a man that helps Nya and her tribe in an Amazing way, at the end of the story. Their stories will lap over at the ending.(although it will be in Nya's perspective.) The conflict is person vs. society because Salva is running from the war and Nya is needing water but the water is not good.
I was sad when Salva's friend, Marial got attacked by a lion. :-(. In the story it says, "Uncle and the other leaders finally decided that the group has to rest. Salva took two steps off the path and fell asleep almost before he lay down. He did not wake until he felt Uncle's hand shaking his shoulder. As he opened his eyes, he heard wailing. Someone was crying. Salva blinked away the sleepiness and looked at Uncle, whose face was very solemn. "I'm sorry, Salva," Uncle said quietly. "Your friend..." Marial? Salva looked around. He should be somewhere nearby....I don't remember if he slept near me—I was so tired—perhaps he has gone to find something to eat— Uncle stroked Salva's head as if he were a baby. "I am sorry," he said again. A cold fist seemed to grip Salva's heart. Marial was gone—vanished into the night. He would never have wandered away from the group on his own. His disappearance could mean only one thing. Lion." I was SO sad when I learned that Salva had lost his friend because he had no one when he first went into the group, but then he met Marial and they became friends. Why did the six men of the Nuer tribe have to shoot Salva's Uncle?! In the text it says, "One of the men walked among the group and stopped in front of uncle. Salva could tell by the rituals scarring on the man's face that he was from the Nuer tribe. "Are you with the rebels?" The man asked. "No,"uncle answered. "Where have you come from? Where are you going?" "We come from the west of the Nile,"uncle said. "We are going to Itang, to the refugee camp." The man told uncle to get up and leave his gun where it was. Two of the other men took uncle to a tree several yards away and tied him to it. Then the men moved among the group. If anyone was carrying a bag, the men opened it and took whatever was in it. They ordered some people to remove their clothing and took that, too. Salva what is trembling. Even in the midst of his fear, he realized that for the first time on the trip, it was a good thing to be the youngest and the smallest: the men would not be interested in his clothes. When the men had finished their looting, they picked up uncle's gun. Then they walked to the tree where uncle was tied up. Maybe they will leave us alone now that they have robbed us, Salva thought. He heard them laughing. As Salva watched, one of the men aimed his gun at Uncle. Three shots rang out. Then the man ran away." I read this and a mix of emotions came over me....first sadness and then anger. I was sad because Salva only had his uncle left, but his uncle had been shot. :-(. I was angry because why couldn't the men have just left uncle tied up and just take the stuff from the people?! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! >:-/.
A Long Walk To Water is a good title for this book because Nya has to walk a long ways just to get water and Salva, he helps the people get fresh water. In the text it says, "Nya is going to the pond to fetch water for her family—there and back, twice. She walks for eight hours a day." "That man, the boss of the workers," Dep said. "You know he is Dinka?" Nya look at Dep in astonishment. The Dinka and the Nuer were enemies—had been for hundreds of years. "Why would a Dinka bring water to us?" She wondered aloud. "I heard uncle and father talking about him, "Dep said. "He has drilled many wells for his own people. This year he decided to drill for the Nuer as well." I thought the ending of the book was AMAZING!!! (For those who do not wish to know the ending please don't read what I'm going to say now) (*Spoiler Alert*!) At the end it says, "she walked over to where the man was standing. He didn't notice her at first, so she waited quietly. Then he saw her. "Hello," he said. Shyness flooded through Nya. For a moment, she didn't think she would be able to speak. She looked down at the ground, then at the stream of water still flowing from the pump mouth. And she found her voice. "Thank you, "she said, and looked up at him bravely. "Thank you for bringing the water. "The man smiled. "What's your name? "He asked. "I am Nya." "I am happy to meet you, Nya," he said. "My name is Salva." OMG! I was SO amazed that Salva was the one who helped Nya and her tribe get water!!! :D. This was one of the BEST ENDINGS EVER! :D.
In conclusion, A Long Walk To Water deserves 5 stars and that's what I rated it. I absolutely loved A Long Walk To Water because there were moments that were joyful and moments very grieving and angered. I hope that we all know how lucky we are to have fresh, clean, running water for ourselves because things could always be worse....
A Long Walk To Water has two stories in one. Both people live in Sudan. Nya's part of the story is pretty simple to understand and the time period is in 2008. Nya fetches water for her family twice a day. She wants to have water that is clean, not muddy or dirty. Even though Nya and her tribe, the Nuer tribe, want clean, good water they can't because that kind of water doesn't really exist in Sudan. So Nya is stuck bringing back water for her family twice a day. Then around the ending of the story an amazing 'something(s)' happens. Salva's story is a bit more 'complicated'. His part of the story takes place in 1985, 1991, 1992-1996, 1996-2003 (these dates are in the book for Salva's part of the story) , and finally 2003-2007. Salva travels from Southern Sudan to Ethiopia to Kenya and finally goes to Rochester New York. Salva wants his family. He's separated from them because of the 'Second Sudanese Civil War'. Even though he desperately searches for his family, he can't find them. So he travels with a group for days and days and many adventures/obstacles block his path. Then after walking from Sudan to Ethiopia to Kenya and after many accomplishments and losses, Salva becomes a man that helps Nya and her tribe in an Amazing way, at the end of the story. Their stories will lap over at the ending.(although it will be in Nya's perspective.) The conflict is person vs. society because Salva is running from the war and Nya is needing water but the water is not good.
I was sad when Salva's friend, Marial got attacked by a lion. :-(. In the story it says, "Uncle and the other leaders finally decided that the group has to rest. Salva took two steps off the path and fell asleep almost before he lay down. He did not wake until he felt Uncle's hand shaking his shoulder. As he opened his eyes, he heard wailing. Someone was crying. Salva blinked away the sleepiness and looked at Uncle, whose face was very solemn. "I'm sorry, Salva," Uncle said quietly. "Your friend..." Marial? Salva looked around. He should be somewhere nearby....I don't remember if he slept near me—I was so tired—perhaps he has gone to find something to eat— Uncle stroked Salva's head as if he were a baby. "I am sorry," he said again. A cold fist seemed to grip Salva's heart. Marial was gone—vanished into the night. He would never have wandered away from the group on his own. His disappearance could mean only one thing. Lion." I was SO sad when I learned that Salva had lost his friend because he had no one when he first went into the group, but then he met Marial and they became friends. Why did the six men of the Nuer tribe have to shoot Salva's Uncle?! In the text it says, "One of the men walked among the group and stopped in front of uncle. Salva could tell by the rituals scarring on the man's face that he was from the Nuer tribe. "Are you with the rebels?" The man asked. "No,"uncle answered. "Where have you come from? Where are you going?" "We come from the west of the Nile,"uncle said. "We are going to Itang, to the refugee camp." The man told uncle to get up and leave his gun where it was. Two of the other men took uncle to a tree several yards away and tied him to it. Then the men moved among the group. If anyone was carrying a bag, the men opened it and took whatever was in it. They ordered some people to remove their clothing and took that, too. Salva what is trembling. Even in the midst of his fear, he realized that for the first time on the trip, it was a good thing to be the youngest and the smallest: the men would not be interested in his clothes. When the men had finished their looting, they picked up uncle's gun. Then they walked to the tree where uncle was tied up. Maybe they will leave us alone now that they have robbed us, Salva thought. He heard them laughing. As Salva watched, one of the men aimed his gun at Uncle. Three shots rang out. Then the man ran away." I read this and a mix of emotions came over me....first sadness and then anger. I was sad because Salva only had his uncle left, but his uncle had been shot. :-(. I was angry because why couldn't the men have just left uncle tied up and just take the stuff from the people?! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! >:-/.
A Long Walk To Water is a good title for this book because Nya has to walk a long ways just to get water and Salva, he helps the people get fresh water. In the text it says, "Nya is going to the pond to fetch water for her family—there and back, twice. She walks for eight hours a day." "That man, the boss of the workers," Dep said. "You know he is Dinka?" Nya look at Dep in astonishment. The Dinka and the Nuer were enemies—had been for hundreds of years. "Why would a Dinka bring water to us?" She wondered aloud. "I heard uncle and father talking about him, "Dep said. "He has drilled many wells for his own people. This year he decided to drill for the Nuer as well." I thought the ending of the book was AMAZING!!! (For those who do not wish to know the ending please don't read what I'm going to say now) (*Spoiler Alert*!) At the end it says, "she walked over to where the man was standing. He didn't notice her at first, so she waited quietly. Then he saw her. "Hello," he said. Shyness flooded through Nya. For a moment, she didn't think she would be able to speak. She looked down at the ground, then at the stream of water still flowing from the pump mouth. And she found her voice. "Thank you, "she said, and looked up at him bravely. "Thank you for bringing the water. "The man smiled. "What's your name? "He asked. "I am Nya." "I am happy to meet you, Nya," he said. "My name is Salva." OMG! I was SO amazed that Salva was the one who helped Nya and her tribe get water!!! :D. This was one of the BEST ENDINGS EVER! :D.
In conclusion, A Long Walk To Water deserves 5 stars and that's what I rated it. I absolutely loved A Long Walk To Water because there were moments that were joyful and moments very grieving and angered. I hope that we all know how lucky we are to have fresh, clean, running water for ourselves because things could always be worse....
gracebirdly's review against another edition
5.0
This was an amazing book. Though it is so small, it holds a lot of information. This really opened my eyes to the other cultures. My advice....................READ IT!
emmaannmarie's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ellie742's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
3.75
reader4evr's review against another edition
5.0
I saw a lot of teachers posting about this book on Instagram so I knew I had to move it up on my TBR pile and I’m so glad I did.
I loved the dual-narrators and each of their stories. And the audiobook narrators were so good too well actually the whole production.
So interesting and engaging would keep a student reading because of the cliffhangers at the end of some of the chapters.
This would be a great novel to teach in the classroom.
I loved the dual-narrators and each of their stories. And the audiobook narrators were so good too well actually the whole production.
So interesting and engaging would keep a student reading because of the cliffhangers at the end of some of the chapters.
This would be a great novel to teach in the classroom.