“we become what we have to be”
The above thought by Mau sums up the theme of this book on survival. Several natural disasters change the lives of many people in Nation by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins 2008).
Mau has gone to the Boy’s Island to become a man, but after the big wave, no one of the nation is waiting for him when he gets home. He does however find a girl, the sole survivor of the ship that wrecked on his island. And then there are those searching for the 139th heir, since the king and everyone else in between has died from plague.
And that’s only a hint of what’s going to happen.
This moving, funny story will not disappoint. And if you haven’t come across Mr. Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching or humorous Discworld stories, you should check them out too. www.terrypratchettbooks.com
Thanks, Jenn, for the loan of this book.
I’d read Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa before, but when I read Stanford’s version of the same summer, I had to go back and reread Millicent Min to see her viewpoint again. These humorous books give an insight into these two minds, letting us see why they do what they do. Lisa has also written a 3rd book from yet another character’s viewpoint of the same summer, So Totally Emily Ebers. I’m really looking forward to reading it, too.
I think someone at a conference recommended this book. Whoever it was I’m grateful. So Far From the Bamboo Grove rates “Excellent” on my list. It all felt so real. The story made me feel pain for what 11-year-old Yoko had to go through, yet felt honest because she shares the times she whined. It taught me about a situation I wasn’t previously familiar with–when the Japanese living in Korea in 1945 had to leave their homes and return to Japan.