Two young people, two stories. One country. Southern Sudan, 2008: Nya is going to the pond to fetch water for her family there and back, twice a day. She walks for eight hours every day to perform this seemingly simple task. Southern Sudan, 1985: Salva is walking away from his ruined village to find safety if there is any safety in his war-torn homeland. His journey across Africa to Ethiopia and then to Kenya and beyond will take many years. Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya's in an astonishing and moving way. This mesmerizing dual narrative by award-winning author Linda Sue Park is a fictionalised account of true events and shows us that in a troubled country, determined survivors may find the future they are hoping for.
