A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

Their names are Salva or Nya or Mustapha - they are the lost children of the wars of Africa. To read about their lives is like reading about a distant sad and angry planet. How do they survive? How can they imagine the life we so take for granted. Salva's tale is true. He is a real person who, as a young boy, escaped the war in the Sudan and made his way to NYC. Nya is the young girl who travelled the long distances over dry and dangerous desert to bring her family water. They take turns telling their harsh stories until the two stories become one that is much more powerful and hopeful.