The Killing Sea
2 journalers for this copy...
I got this hardcover from Better World Books during a recent book-binge. It's a novel based on the horrific 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, focusing on the experiences of a teenaged American girl, Sarah, and an Acehnese boy, Ruslan. Their paths crossed briefly when Sarah's parents met Ruslan's father, a mechanic they asked to help repair the motor on their boat. We see Sarah as an unhappy, bored teen on a trip she's not enjoying; Ruslan seems to be a cheerful and responsible youth. Both of them will be severely tested by the disaster, which leaves Sarah and her younger brother stranded on a flooded island and Ruslan fighting his way to the village where his father went just before the tsunami. Each of them has to face illness, wildlife, the emotional trauma of so much death and destruction - and some political complications; Ruslan's father is affiliated with a village of rebels, and the military is combining rescue efforts with attempts to locate and capture the rebels.
The story touches on many of the gritty, wrenching aspects of the disaster - tragic deaths on every hand, some survivors too badly injured or emotionally traumatized to do much, rescuers with their own traumas (and sometimes their own agendas)... Through it all, the young people find inner resources as well as help from unexpected places. I appreciated the way the story denounced the press hunger for stories from the American survivors while ignoring the vast multitude of local people. And I admit I liked the addition of the near-magical "Surf Cat", Sarah's family pet, who not only helps the kids out but somehow stays with them through their travels. And the cross-cultural friendship of Sarah and Ruslan felt believable.
The story touches on many of the gritty, wrenching aspects of the disaster - tragic deaths on every hand, some survivors too badly injured or emotionally traumatized to do much, rescuers with their own traumas (and sometimes their own agendas)... Through it all, the young people find inner resources as well as help from unexpected places. I appreciated the way the story denounced the press hunger for stories from the American survivors while ignoring the vast multitude of local people. And I admit I liked the addition of the near-magical "Surf Cat", Sarah's family pet, who not only helps the kids out but somehow stays with them through their travels. And the cross-cultural friendship of Sarah and Ruslan felt believable.
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Little Free Library, Burgess Farm Rd in Dracut, Massachusetts USA on Thursday, March 21, 2019
Released 4 yrs ago (3/22/2019 UTC) at Little Free Library, Burgess Farm Rd in Dracut, Massachusetts USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!
[See other recent releases in MA here.]
*** Released for the 2019 Four Elements release challenge. ***
[See other recent releases in MA here.]
*** Released for the 2019 Four Elements release challenge. ***
Age Range: 12 and up
Found this one in my little free library! It looks like an interesting read.
Since it's been hanging out in the library for a few months now, I will take it out of rotation, and will introduce it again in a few months!
Found this one in my little free library! It looks like an interesting read.
Since it's been hanging out in the library for a few months now, I will take it out of rotation, and will introduce it again in a few months!