I was hesitant to read this book because I know nothing about the conflicts in Africa but I am very glad I did! A Long Walk to Water is based on a true story of a boy named Salva. When he was 11 years old, war came to his country of Sudan. The country wanted to make Islam the official region but many tribes in the south did not want this and rebelled against the government. When war came to his village, the teacher told the boys to hid in the brush so they would not be taken as child soldiers.
Salva escapes and starts walking with other members from his tribe. He can not find his family anywhere. They travel for months until they get to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Along the way he makes a friend and finds one of his uncles. 
Before they reach the refugee camp in Ethiopia, a few men from a warring tribe show up and rob them. They almost starve and run out of water several times. There are so many narrow escapes for Salva!
It switches back and forth between Salva’s story in 1985 and Nya’s story in 2008. Nya is a fictional character but has the same struggles as many people in Sudan have. She spends her entire days walking back and forth to the pond fetching water for her family. She can not attend school because she needs to get water. It takes her half of a day to travel to the pond and back. By the time she gets back home, she eats lunch and has to travel back to the pond to get water for dinner.
I highly recommend this book. It is such a short read – less than 120 pages. Although it’s a serious subject matter, it’s not a book that depresses you. The end is so uplifting and inspirational. I cried.
*Spoiler Alert* – Salva is forced to leave his refugee camp in Ethiopia when the government fails. He leads 1200 boys across the desert and successfully leads them to Kenya. It took them a year and a half of walking! He gets selected to immigrate to America (after extensive paperwork and medical examinations). He perfects his English, has an American foster family, and attends community college. The entire time he is in America, he is trying to thing of solutions for his country. The war and rampant poverty are things that no government or relief aide organization have been able to fix. He starts a foundation that builds wells in villages across Africa and begins fundraising. At the end, his story and Nya’s story combine as he builds a well in Nya’s village. Nya can now attend school because she will not have to go to the pond and back. Nya’s little sister will not have to get sick from drinking unclean water. Y’all I cried. It was awesome. To have suffered so much and to have turned around and made such a huge difference for so many people! SO INSPIRING! Loved it, hope you love it too.
Hermione's Reviews 