Book Review of Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

 Book Review of Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

A Long Walk To Water is a piece of literature that reflects all the struggles that the people of Sudan face on a daily basis.

Summary
It has two stories in completely different times running together side by side. Salva is a young boy in south Sudan who is going to school when  re aches his village. He can't return to his family who are still in the village but only run with all the people in his village moving East. They plan to move to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. He makes friends with a boy named Marial who later falls prey to a lion. He meets his Uncle Jewiir among the thousands of people but is disappointed to know his uncle has no clue about his family. In the presence of Uncle Jewiir Salva is treated well but when a group of people in the desert kill his uncle everyone starts thinking of him as someone who will slow them down again. Will they reach Ethiopia? Read the book to find out Salva's fate. Nya, a girl in South Sudan has to walk long distances to get water for her family. The water is not clean and thus causes many diseases and illness in the people of her village. One day a few people come to build a well and a school and she no longer needs to walk miles for water but can go to school. These stories though decades apart connect. Read the book to find out how.

My Opinion
This book was very impactful. I have been complaining my whole life but after reading this book, I realised many people have a situation far worse than mine and I should be happy that I live in a country with a proper source of water, no civil wars. I have a house and I get to go to school. Even though this may seem normal for you, my readers, these are privileges many do not have . The book was thoroughly gripping and over the book I began to empathize for the people in the book and their situation. The character development was pretty amazing as Salva went from a small helpless boy to an educated young man who brings upon change in his own society. I loved how powerfully Salva's emotions were conveyed throughout the book. The setting was portrayed so well that I could feel the heat of the desert, the bites of the mosquitoes and even the thirst that they felt.  I loved the book and I also want to do something for the people of countries like Sudan who face the life-threatening issue of water-shortage.