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A review by buuboobaby
Up From the Sea by Leza Lowitz
4.0
4 stars
Moving story of a boy who survived the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011. The account of his fear during the quake and flight from the deadly ocean surge is suspenseful and very scary. I can't imagine experiencing it myself. His worries about the fate of his family is also very emotional. Kai has lost everything, and his helplessness and hopelessness resonate through the author's use of free verse. How can he go on, knowing that his mother, grandmother, and grandfather have all died? Everything he loved and took for granted is gone. His family, his friends, his school, even his soccer ball - gone. With nothing left to anchor him, Kai drifts from one day to the next, wondering why he bothers. He's thrown a lifeline and invited to New York to meet with survivors of 9/11 who have also lost parents to tragedy. From their shared grief, he finds the strength to go on. He can also, finally, put into perspective his anger at the father who abandoned him years before.
I found Kai's struggle to find himself and to find a purpose in his new life after the quake both gripping and bittersweet.
Moving story of a boy who survived the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011. The account of his fear during the quake and flight from the deadly ocean surge is suspenseful and very scary. I can't imagine experiencing it myself. His worries about the fate of his family is also very emotional. Kai has lost everything, and his helplessness and hopelessness resonate through the author's use of free verse. How can he go on, knowing that his mother, grandmother, and grandfather have all died? Everything he loved and took for granted is gone. His family, his friends, his school, even his soccer ball - gone. With nothing left to anchor him, Kai drifts from one day to the next, wondering why he bothers. He's thrown a lifeline and invited to New York to meet with survivors of 9/11 who have also lost parents to tragedy. From their shared grief, he finds the strength to go on. He can also, finally, put into perspective his anger at the father who abandoned him years before.
I found Kai's struggle to find himself and to find a purpose in his new life after the quake both gripping and bittersweet.