A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story

English language

ISBN:: 978-1-5012-3608-2

(1 review)

A Long Walk to Water is a short novel written by Linda Sue Park and published in 2010. It blends the true story of Salva Dut whose story is based in 1985, a part of the Dinka tribe and a Sudanese Lost Boy, and the fictional story of Nya whose story is based in 2008, a young village girl that was a part of the Nuer tribe. Park used this book as a platform to support Dut's organization, Water for South Sudan.

4 editions

crabbygirl reviewed A long walk to water by Linda Sue Park

Review of 'A long walk to water' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

[guessing at the star rating / mining my old FB notes now that they are almost impossible to find]

after watching 2 documentaries about the lost boys of sudan i wanted to know more, and i found this book - labelled as junior fiction. one of the benefits of books that target youth is the basic introduction they provide...these books never assume you're approaching the subject with prior knowledge or opinions. i really appreciated that. the book has a much more hopeful tone than i got from the documentaries, and spelled out more clearly themes i'd seen in the films. for example, sport would be the easiest way for the sudanese boys to fit into american life because the language and cultural barriers would be minimal.

i've also found a 'lost boys' book targetting the very young - a picture book. i'm looking forward to reading this to my youngest.