The Killing Sea

by Richard Lewis

The Killing Sea

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Survival, Historical, Realistic Fiction

183 pages, Pasta dura

First published November 6, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Katie Boehmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Killing Sea is a great book that I would definitely recommend to others. In the beginning of the story, Sarah and her family are on vacation in Aceh, Indonesia. While they are there, a tsunami hits and their parents die. This is very upsetting for Sarah and Peter, but they know that they need to care for themselves and take care of each other. Then while Sarah and Peter are walking they meet Ruslan. Sarah did not notice at the time but Ruslan was the same boy that helped her dad with their boat the day before the tsunami. After several days of walking, Peter starts to feel very sick. This was very concerning for Sarah because she knew that if she did not find a hospital for Peter soon, he would die. The main problem that they faced though was that many of the cities were torn up because of the waves that went through the city. While all of this is going on, Ruslan also is trying to find his dad. Even though there are several times when Ruslan wants to give up, he thinks about his dad and knows that he is still alive. This is a great book about adventure and I didn't want to put the book down.

[Nitya Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel "The Killing Sea" is about a boy named Ruslan and a girl named Sarah working together to get her sick brother, Peter to a help when a major tsunami strikes Aceh, Indonesia. While Sarah and Ruslan don't really know each other, they get to know each other as they save Peter from an up-turned boat, get shot at by rebels as they drive through a swamp, and try to rush Peter to the hospital. I was very intigued at how powerful this natural disasteer! THe characters, a teenage girl, a younger boy, and a local Acehnese boy had very easy-to-believe personalities in the book-- they helped make the story come alive.

"The Killing Sea" by Richard Lewis is a very interesting book, but I found it to be too graphic for me. I found myself wincing again and again as the author brought details up; like when a dead little girl's eyes had been eaten, and realized how horible this tsunami must of actually been in real life. But also, I found this book interesting because of it's suspenese and well-written words, but was unable to a lack of emotion in the characters. Even though I didn't like this book because of it's graphic nature, I think people who want to know want happened in the "tsunami that stunned the world" and people who enjoy an adventure story would like to read a book like this. I also recommend this book to people who have experienced first-hand in the real tsunami tnat killed thousands, so they can relate to the book easily. This is why I gave the "Killing Sea" by Richard Lewis 3 stars.

[Karen Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah and Peter Bedford and their parents are sailing on a yacht in Indonesia in December 2004. The yacht has engine trouble, and they pull into Meulaboh, a small village near Aceh, where they meet Ruhlan. Ruhlan directs them to his father, Yusuf the mechanic, who fixes their engine. In the hours afterward, an earthquake strikes and the infamous monster tsunami hits Aceh and all of the surrounding villages (and continues on to devastate a vast portion of the region). Sarah and Peter's mother is killed, and their father is missing, as is Ruhlan's. The destinies of the three are intertwined, as they search for their fathers and also for a doctor for Peter, who has become seriously ill. This is an amazing story of the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable suffering, and a phenomenal survival tale as well. Richard Lewis was raised in Indonesia, and volunteered in Aceh after the tsunami. This may be fiction, but it is solidly based on what he witnessed there after the disaster. He is also donating a portion of the royalties from the sales of his book to local Indonesian organizations working to relieve the suffering and need there.

[Jon Von · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Begins as a pretty intense survival thriller about a small group of people trying to find safety, medical help, and family members after a tsunami devastates the coastline of an Indonesian island, killing thousands. It’s a quick read and, despite beginning with some horror elements, turns into a pretty straightforward adventure with a few gruesome scenes as there are many, many dead bodies on the island. It does start to get corny in the second half, as the protagonists are a pair of teenagers, and the book tries to keep everything light to the point that it sacrifices a lot of the tension. There are chases and altercations with military and rebel groups, and it seems like, in reality, the situation would progress in darker fashion. There’s a scene where a pair of girls encounter a CB radio and immediately hear that some people are pretending to be help to kidnap teens for human trafficking. In the very next scene a pair of guys in a helicopter show up and try to abduct them and the group chases them off with rocks. All the threats are like this, appearing briefly and easily dismissed. The whole thing turns into a teen adventure, which is actually pretty accessible, but the light and optimistic tone contrast with the seriousness of the disaster in a way that seems to undermine its own narrative.

[Changjun Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this book 5 out of 3 because although I think the story line was fun I thought it could have been more realistic because there wasn't a lot of emotion in the book. For example when Sarah was burying her mom I felt like that was fake. No human being would have that little emotion when they were burying their own mom. The other parts of the books were pretty realistic though. Of how Sarah and Peter care for each other and how Sarah and Ruslan fell in love so overall I thought it was okay book to read.

[Ava Bayko]

16 year old Ruslan meets the Bedfords, an American family, when the engine on their sailboat breaks down and they seek out Ruslan's mechanic father in the small harbor town of Meulaboh. The author provides a chilling description of the disaster that strikes Aceh the next day. Teen Sarah Bedford and her younger brother, Peter, become separated from their parents after being forced to abandon their boat. This book was emotional, the teenagers got exposed to seeing very graphic things such as their own parents dead bodies.

[Charlie N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it kind of ended abruptly, but it was still a sad and interesting story. That is so cool how Sarah's and Ruslan's story kept on going together and then apart. But, what about Sarah's dad? Why did her grief for her mom come so late? Another thing that's interesting is that, almost all of the story took place in the aftershock. Very little took place during the actual tsunami.

[Chloe Butalla]

This was a very interesting and good book. It held a lot of suspense and it was interesting to find out if everyone was ok.

[Kay Cugini · Rating 3 out of 5]

So terrifying, but I did not particularly enjoy the writing style and this lead to me losing interest sadly

[julissa capone henriquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book

[Jaden C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very realistic and in some ways heart touching, I think this book should win an award if it hasn't already. This book was a masterpiece, I highly recommend it to you readers!!!

[YJin C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being one of my favorite novels, I reread Lewis Richard’s, “The Killing Sea.” This novel was created by the author based on the Tsunami that took place in Aceh (Indonesia) on December 26, 2004. During that disaster, Lewis Richard was actually working as a relief worker in ache. Then after two years, in 2006 he created this novel.

The main story of this novel focuses on two main character Ruslan and Sarah in the aftermath of the Tsunami. In this novel, Ruslan is introduced as an Indonesian boy who searches for his father. While Sarah is introduced as an American girl who tries to find medical treatment for his sick brother. During this process of searching and finding, those two meet each other and together, they go on a journey helping each other not only for survival but for their own purposes. Through this novel, the author uses these two main characters to introduce the themes of ingenuity, resourcefulness, and reliance in those two character’s survival.

Much like typical survival novels, I really enjoyed reading “The Killing Sea,” because many parts from the novel incorporate real life/nonfiction experiences from the actual event. Moreover, I could actually imagine how cataclysmic and chaos that region might have been during and after the Tsunami. Furthermore, I could also learn the inner conflicts that people might have been through during these disasters. It was very interesting that I could feel people’s emotions being both heart broken that they couldn’t do anything and at the same time glad, knowing that they weren’t the ones involved in the Tsunami. This novel written in the author's experience is very detailed and throughly goes over the themes mentioned above in true depths. Thus, I would recommend it to people who are interested in this genre.

[Zachary Viola27973 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Killing Sea was a fantastic book.It always had me on the edge of my seat during every chapter.It is filled with suspense and non-stop action.For example,the character's stumble into all kinds of problems.It starts with the tsunami,but then it gets worse for all of the people.The writing for this book was well done and descriptive.The strengths for this book would probably be all of the problems and drama.Although,at the end of most of the chapters,it sort of repeats the same ending.It's also a little slow in the beginning.If this book was a series,I would definitely read the following books.My reason for this is this it kept me engaged and interested.I think people would appreciate it because of its action and suspense.I think people would appreciate it like this because a good amount of people love a suspenseful and action-packed book.If you are looking for a book that keeps you thinking,"what's gonna happen?"Then this is the book for you.

[Emmett L · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Killing Sea is a great book. It combines the points of view of two teenagers that got caught by the tsunami. One of them is Sarah, an American girl on a sail boating vacation with her family. The other one Ruslan is a native of Aceh, the town that got the worst of the tsunami. I would recommend this book to people who like lots of action.

[Yuji Yamada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yuji Yamada
Madelena Elshoff
English/Writing 9
6 December 2016
Familial Love In a Disaster: An Analysis of Richard Lewis’ Killing Sea
Familial love is a strong adhesive for relationships, strongly welding the relationships together even in extremely severe situations, such as natural disasters. The historical fiction novel, Killing Sea by Richard Lewis is based on an actual natural disaster- the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that happened in 2004. In the novel, Sarah and her family, who are foreigners, sail off to the coast of Indonesia. Forthwith, a huge tsunami attacks the Tiger island, Indonesia, breaking their father’s leg during the strike. While their mother rescues their father, she tells Sarah and her brother to run away with their pet, Surf Cat. Ruslan, an Indonesian boy who lost his mother when he was young, also runs away to survive from the tsunami. He was alone because his father has gone to the rebel’s village called “Ie Mameh” on the day of the tsunami. The two different characters go on a journey to find their parents. That was when they start to realise the essential aspect that they’ve been forgetting- “familial love”. Straightaway, they become very friendly to each other as soon as they figure out their common distresses towards their familial love. Under those circumstances, the novel shows that the familial love can play a significant role among the characters. If that is the case, how does the author convey the overall importance of family love in this novel? In the novel Killing Sea, the author shows the substantial role of “family love” through the character development of Ruslan and Sarah, and through the use of figurative language.
First of all, the author conveys the significance of familial love by developing the character of Ruslan. Ruslan notices how the maternal love is critical for him as he travels along with Sarah, who also has a hard time with understanding familial love and finding Ruslan’s father. During the journey, Indonesian rebels, as well as Ruslan’s uncles, tell Ruslan the way his mother has died by saying, “Let me tell you something. Your mother ... died as a fighter, a rifle in her hands” (Lewis 167). The author implies that Ruslan does not know how the maternal love is crucial by mentioning that his mother has died as a soldier when he was little. However, he recognizes that the maternal love is vital that the children must receive. Ruslan mentions that “[All the mothers] love the children all the same” (Lewis 138). Contrastingly, Sarah disagrees to Ruslan’s statement because she was born at “a pregnancy at the wrong time” (Lewis 139). In this sentences, the author implies that the characters have been living in the contrary familial environments by stating the characters’ opposite thoughts and opinions with different perspectives. On the other hand, both of them have the exact same distress even though they have been living in the contrary environment because they share the same painful experiences. After then, he tries to understand the mother love by sympathizing Sarah’s distresses about her familial love. Thereafter, Ruslan shows the sympathy towards Sarah by saying “You don’t have to worry about [that your mom did not love you]. I know because I know you” (Lewis 219). The readers can infer that he grasps Sarah’s struggles by sensing the sympathy from the quote on above. Consequently, Ruslan comprehends that the familial love is an essential element for him by going to a journey to find his father and meet someone who is having the same trouble as him. The author interprets the way how the familial love is being conveyed as an essential element to him in a pessimistic way by introducing speculation about the opposite perspective from Sarah. Ruslan and Sarah have an opinion crash about that “[Sarah’s] mother did not love [Sarah]” (Lewis 219). From this opinion crash, there are two perspectives with different opinions are being proposed as can be seen above. At that instant, the different point of views that are created by the contradictory ideas form affinity between the characters by perceiving each other’s trials, and leading into their biggest goal, which is to find Sarah and Ruslan’s parents. As a result, the author conveys the importance of familial love by developing a contrast between the characters.
To extend further, the author develops the character of Sarah who realises the criticality of familial love even though she has the past full of pain. Sarah mentions about the day when she has found her mother’s diary, then she introduces one of the sentences from the diary that shows her mother’s hatred towards Sarah, which is “My resentment of this child within me borders on hate ... I don’t want to have it” (Lewis 152). Sarah was born because of her mother’s accidental pregnancy. thus her mother hates Sarah. Because of the fact that her mother hates Sarah, the readers can infer that she is having a hard time understanding the mother love. In order to overcome the problem, she discusses and figures out with Ruslan who is in the same situation. As the evidence, the third person narrators explains the way she feels sad and sheds tears when Sarah sees “sketch of … her mother” (Lewis 224) that Ruslan drew as “The water of grief came rushing in” (Lewis 225). The author implies her sadness towards her mother by using an implied metaphor. Along with, the author conveys the value of the familial love in an emotional way by the use of figurative language through describing the sadness and forgiveness towards mother’s unjustifiable behaviours against her child with “the water of grief” (Lewis 225), which made the teardrops into a metaphor. In addition, the narrator explains that “Sarah saw all the love that her mother had always had for her [in the Ruslan’s sketch]” (Lewis 224). This denies her anxiety towards her mother, which entails her forgiveness towards her mother’s behaviors. The author makes the tear that she sheds into a metaphor when she sees sketch of her mother by using the word “water” and “grief”, which simply means “water of sadness.” From the figurative language, the readers can infer that she finally succeeds to understand and forgive her mother by dropping tears when she looks at the painting of her mother. As a result, by sharing the same painful experiences with someone, and discussing the trouble with somebody else, she comprehends that the value of love never changes even though there are hatreds in the familial relationship. Through their discussions about their situations, the author demonstrates the characters’ opinion about familial love.
Furthermore, the author highlights the significance of familial love by using figurative language. To give an example, the narrator describes Ruslan’s dream as “the nightmare...” (Lewis 1). Moreover, the narrator mentions the monster (Lewis 2) appearing in Ruslan’s nightmare as black (Lewis 2). Since the monster is the main troubles of the story and the term repeatedly comes out in the story, “monster” is the symbol of the book. Black and the term “monster” figuratively symbolise the character’s anxiety towards the nightmare. Lewis uses a metaphor to show the Ruslan’s fear and anxiety towards the tsunami by describing the monster that comes out in his nightmare; however, ironically the monster brings everyone together through their shared pain and distress. Sarah says about her mother “She did her best, I know. Why can’t I feel? Am I a monster?” (Lewis 219), and in this context, the word “monster” is also being used by the author to describe someone who cannot understand and feel the necessity of the mother love. The author implies that the symbol contains multiple hidden meanings, not just simply one meaning. One is “nature as monster”, which makes the tsunami itself into a metaphor. The disaster of tsunami strongly welds the relationship together. Besides, another one is “people as monster”, which makes people’s anxiety towards the distress of the familial love into a metaphor. The monster in terms of “people’s anxiety” also bonds the relationship between the characters by making them realize that the love is the imperative substance and it leads them to solve each other’s problems. Even though the monster contains two different meanings in different ways, it is being figuratively described as a negative figure. However, the monster bonds the character's relationships as well. Additionally, the narrator mentions Ruslan’s reaction towards the familial love as “floating off the ground” (Lewis 210). When Ruslan gracefully reunites with his father, the author implies that there is a feeling of happiness towards the realisation of the familial love. He does this using the descriptive word “floating”. According to Maya Angelou in Oprah’s interview, she mentions that “[She has] learned that regardless of [one’s] relationship with [one’s] parents, [one will] miss them when they're gone from [one’s] life.” (Angelou, interview) The happiness of the reunion and the quote from Maya Angelou states the necessity of the parents in people’s lives. No matter what kind of the relationship that he has had, the necessity of the familial love from his parents does not change at all. Thus, the author recounts us the priority of the familial love by using the figurative and descriptive language.
In conclusion, through the use of character development and figurative language, Richard Lewis conveys the significance of empathy and familial love in the lives of Ruslan and Sarah. The importance of familial love is being told by describing the nightmares of the tsunami, which is the main cause that bonds the family relationships through the use of irony and the figurative language. Next, the author describes the happiness towards the realisation of the familial love’s value with descriptive languages. Further, the both of the characters debates and discusses about their distresses towards the familial love throughout the journey. As they discuss their experiences, both of them figure it out the importance of familial love. And they give sympathy towards their painful pasts and experiences, then they success to comprehend each other’s unbearable pressures and problems. The literary devices that Richard Lewis used in Killing Sea led the reader to conclude that familial love is a strong magical potion that welds the relationships together.



Works Cited

Lewis, Richard. The Killing Sea. New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 2006. Print.
"Oprah’s Interview." Interview by Oprah Gail Winfrey. A Very Special Woman - MAYA ANGELOU. Alan’s Dream Writings, 1 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.

[Judah Daffron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really had the potential to be better than it was. When I read the back of the book, I was quite excited to read the book. Richard Lewis does a bad job of establishing background knowledge and building a bond with the characters. The author makes it unclear whose perspective the story’s being told in as each chapter switches from characters and it can sometimes be up to 5-10 pages until you know who is telling the story.

The Killing Sea is a novel about an Indonesian boy Ruslan and American girl Sarah, the novel makes you feel like you really are on Indonesian island. When disaster strikes early in the book and both Ruslan and Sarah lose family members as the reader you just do not feel connected to the characters like you should in the book. When the disaster occurred, I did not feel attached because I had next to no background knowledge from the author on the families and the main characters. The author made these disasters feel unreal and although it was based on a true story it seemed completely fictional because of the way the author described the events. After the disasters strikes, Sarah and Ruslan and brough together by pure luck and Ruslan helps Sarah find the hospital because her brother needs help and Sarah helps Ruslan in the attempt to find his dad. But will they be able to work together enough to escape the deadly tsunami and get to safety?

The plot of this book was extremely hard to follow, and I had to review many pages because the author did not string together the actions in the book very well. The author makes the plot seem unreal and it was hard to believe it was hard to make it like this because this being a real story, he should have just followed the original plot of what happened in real life. But one thing I did enjoy about this book was how well the author described the scenery and I really felt like I was in Indonesia.

So, I am just going to say unless you are knowledgeable on this topic, I am not going to recommend this book. The plot is confusing, and the characters never developed, it had the potential to be better than it was. I am just disappointed it was this bad. The one thing I did enjoy, however, was the scenery that was described in this book.

[Kennedy]

Adventure, romance, mystery, and the lose of many..... The Killing Sea by Richard D. Lewis. The two most very important characters are Ruslan and Sarah. I will not give any spoilers but In the beginning they do not know each so they are going through the same disasters but they both have they own experience. Many have died what about the other what they do with the dead is pretty nasty. After they meet each other they start the turn on each other one needs to go one way the other needs to go the other way.

In the beginning I think all of it is unnecessary it is just really slow it could have been a little faster" Ruslan sat down at a rickety plywood table shaded by one of the palm trees." That is pretty much what he does half the whole chapter it would be cool if they could just. get right to the good stuff. The authors perspective is great in one chapter he is one charterer and in other chapters his a different charterer and how they are getting through this disaster. This books make me feel for the people who went through all of this and of the people that were lost it really makes me think twice. I have a connection with this book because Sarah lost people she really loved and so have I.

Think about all the people in different parts of the world that are going through a really hard time that we don't even think about. In the end the book was really good. My favorite part was when they first start the book and how different their lives are compared to the end. It was a little slow in the beginning thought. My final choice about the book is... I loved it!

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book in Elementary/Middle School. There was an edition that had the famous Japanese tidal wave woodblock print, "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" as the cover. It caught my eye, because as a kid I "judged" books by their cover, haha. Anyways, I remember getting a couple chapters in, but my attention-span was so low back then, it felt nearly impossible for me to finish a book.
Now at 23 years old, I finally have decided to take up reading as a hobby, and to learn. It's interesting how I always kept this book in the back of my mind. So about a month ago, I picked this book up again and finished it! And thank God my attention span has gotten much better.

As a kid, natural disasters and the mysteriousness of the ocean always fascinated me. I remember being very interested in the subject and feeling the thrill going through every chapter.
I think it's a decent book, I would have loved to see if Sarah ever reunited with her father, but I'm going to guess it never happened :(
The part where Sarah says reporters are more focused on HER than the native people, whose lives and families will forever be changed because of this event, really touched me. Her character development was satisfying.
Ruslan is a nice character too. He is strong-willed and was determined to find his father. I had to re-read the part where they reunited! After all these years, I finally can rest knowing he got back with his father.
Overall a decent juvenile-level novel about youth facing tragedy and culture clashes! 3/5

[Max Rabey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Killing Sea by Richard Lewis, is a survival story that takes place on Tiger Island, Indonesia. The theme of this book is determination of getting what you need in a survival situation. After a tsunami destroys Tiger Island, the three main characters Sarah, her younger brother Peter and their friend Ruslan struggle to get to a mainland where there is food, water and health care. The most scary scene is when the tsunami hits and all the villagers run as fast as they could away from it. The main character Ruslan runs , he sees the water behind him and describes it as a “hungry killer wanting to eat the whole village”.This is the most scary scene for me because as he is running up the hill, it was sending chills up my spine, because I didn't want Ruslan to get hurt. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves survival stories and tense survival moments. I say this because there are moments when the main character is about to die and other moments when they are running for their lives.

[Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m SO glad I needed to read this for school.

(Brief) Summary: A boy called Ruslan and a girl called Sarah both were in Meulaboh, Indonesia. Following an earthquake, a deadly tsunami emerges, killing thousands. Sarah’s mother is confirmed dead, while Ruslan and Sarah’s fathers are not known either dead or alive.
(You never truly find out but still)
Sarah’s brother (Peter) becomes sick and needs to go to a hospital, and Ruslan and multiple other survivors join them in their journey.


⚠️TW⚠️

•Death
•(Somewhat) Gory descriptions


Fav character:
•Aisyah


(Personal) Recommended maturity level:
11-12+


Writing style: Dual perspective 🧍‍♀️🧍


I won’t give away much more, but please trust me and read this book!! (Only downside is a bit of a cliffhanger with no sequel that I’m aware of)

Enjoy reading ❤️

[Joseph Escobar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The killing sea is a excellent book. It was written very well. While i'm reading the book and i have to take a break, it makes me eager to want to read more. There is endless action and amazing imagery that always keeps you on the edge of your seat. The story is really easy to follow as long as your paying attention and not skipping pages. They way Richard Lewis wrote this book In a very special way. The first paragraph was about the first character who is native to the country. The author tells his side of the tsunami story. The second paragraph is about the second character, whose name is sarah, who is a visitor of the country. It tells her side of the tsunami story. The author makes each side of the story interesting and enjoyable to read. Both of the characters are relatable to people because everyone either is that character or knows someone who is that character. There is a lot of drama and action. This is a perfect book for someone who loves action and drama.
I would recommend this to everyone that I know. This has to be the best book that I have ever read. It is not only written well, it is presented as well. This book deserves a reward or prize. This should also become a movie as well.

[Shannez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a young boy named Ruslan who survived the tsunami in 2004. Ruslan then found another survivor, Sarah and Ruslan and Sarah helped each other as they were both finding their parents. The story is very interesting as the author describes the challenges they both faced in order to find their parents. Overall, I really enjoyed this book as the plot of the story is very interesting and the plot was also explained in detail.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vivid portrayal of one of the greatest disasters in recent years, good for upper elementary and up. Disturbing images but little graphic human-on-human violence; some implied or threatened. And rather unrealistically, (spoiler alert) the cat lives... Also addresses Indonesian and Western attitudes toward Western tourist privilege, in a passing and not heavy-handed manner. I'll recommend to students who like historical fiction or adventure novels.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This book is probably appropriate for middle grade readers; it definitely reads as a “young” book. It was very well written though.

Two teenagers, an Acehnese boy and a western girl, have to try to find their families in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. The way the stories intertwined was quite beautiful, and despite it being short I found myself heavily invested in the characters and anxious for their safety.

[Rianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in the fifth grade I think… circa 2010 or so. One of my earliest memories of a natural disaster is the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. This book has stuck with me for years as it describes a fictional (based on fact) story between a couple young adult survivors and the trials and tribulations they faced in trying to reunite with their families. Literally haunts me to this day lol. Very good book. I only rate it a 4 out of 5 because it has been so long since I read it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tsunami hits. People die. People survive. Sarah, a teenager, has her little brother to take care of
Ruslan is looking for his father. The two travel together and try to cope with what has happened.

It was an interesting, unique read that intrigued me. I was invested in the story. I wanted to know what happened to them. I just wanted a little more out of the ending.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fast paced, action packed story. Reluctant readers will really enjoy this book. It gives a great description of what it would be like to survive such a horrendous event. Based off of the 2004 tsunami that hit Thailand and smaller areas beforehand, my heart goes out to the families that are affected.

[Abby Rigdon · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son had to read this for 8th grade English and I read it on a whim. I wanted a definite answer to some questions like why did the reporters know who Sarah and Peter were...like they or their family were somebody special? Anyway...as I said, unanswered questions. The book wasn't that long so they could have developed things a bit more.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow... I read this book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Ruslan and Sarah survive the devastating tsunami in December 2004 and are thrown together trying to find help for Sarah's brother. A very intense story about the human tragedy that took over 200,000 lives. Very well written by someone who was there in the aftermath in the days after.

[Mary H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 200 pg story based on the horrifying Christmas Day 2004 tsunami in Indonesia which ultimately killed a quarter million people; also highlighted in compassionate terms differences between cultures and religions based on the author’s personal experiences. Recommended for Young Adults and Adults, quick read.