A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park)
by Linda Sue Park
★ Top 25 book of 2010 · #12 on Best Books of 2010
When civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva is separated from his family and joins other Dinka tribe members on a long trek across Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The story draws on the real life of Salva Dut.
Best for: Readers who value true-life survival stories and the work of digging wells
A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) is #12 on BookWard's Best Books of 2010, out of 43 2010 books that cleared our data bar.
What A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) is about
Two stories run side by side in this short novel. In 1985, eleven-year-old Salva, a Dinka boy in southern Sudan, is separated from his family when the civil war reaches his village. He joins other Dinka travelers on foot, crossing Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya in search of a safe place. In 2008, Nya, a young Nuer girl, lives in a village where daily life depends on getting water.
Salva's story comes from real life. Salva Dut was one of the Sudanese Lost Boys, emigrated to America in 1996, and later began a project to dig water wells in Sudan. Linda Sue Park wrote the book partly to support his organization, Water for South Sudan. The telling is spare and moving, with a hopeful thread running through it. It suits young readers, and anyone curious about survival, displacement and why clean water matters so much.
A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) on the Best Books of 2010
A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) came out in 2010. Of the 43 books first published in 2010 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #12 on our Best Books of 2010 list.
Why it made the list: 439 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (23 ratings); 24 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2010 list
- The Compound Effect Darren Hardy, #10
- Attached Amir Levine, #11
- Full Dark, No Stars Stephen King, #13
- A Dog's Purpose W. Bruce Cameron, #14
See all Best Books of 2010 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2009 Best Books of 2011.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 385 want to read it, 24 are reading it now and 30 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 from 23 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 63 | 55% |
| Reader love | 88 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 63 | 20% |
Questions about A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park)
When was A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) published?
A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) by Linda Sue Park was first published in 2010.
Was A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) one of the best books of 2010?
A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) is #12 on BookWard's Best Books of 2010, out of 43 2010 books that cleared our data bar. 439 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (23 ratings); 24 are reading it right now.
Why is A Long Walk to Water( Linda Sue Park) on the Best Books of 2010 list?
439 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.5 out of 5 (23 ratings); 24 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2010
- The Lost Hero Rick Riordan, #1
- The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson, #2
- Divergent Veronica Roth, #3
- The Personal MBA Josh Kaufman, #4
- The Red Pyramid Rick Riordan, #5
- It's Not Summer Without You Jenny Han, #6
See the full Best Books of 2010, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
Find your own best books
Add what you have read, rate it, and BookWard will recommend what to read next.
Free while in beta. No credit card needed.