Wave
Written by Eric Walters
Doubleday Canada $14.95
Recommended for ages 12 and up

I remember being glued to the television back in December of 2004 when the horrific tsunami hit Thailand and changed the country forever. As with most catastrophes, once the media coverage ended, my thoughts of the country dissipated a little. So when I picked up this new book by Canadian author, Eric Walters, I was shocked to be taken back to that time in such a realistic way.

Twelve-year-old, Sam and his parents are headed to Phuket, Thailand for their Christmas holiday. A trip they have taken for as long as Sam can remember. The only difference this year is that Sam’s older sister is not going on the trip with them. She is staying home to compete in a swim meet as she is on a swimming scholarship at university and has no choice but to remain back in New York.

Over the next couple of days, Sam finds himself in the middle of a national crisis when a record-breaking tsunami strikes the shores of Phuket. The area is immobilized. Sam and his parents ran to the safety of the hotel. Unfortunately, not everyone on the beach was so lucky. Immediately, Sam’s father propels himself into action and amazingly rescues a German woman and her young child. Before too long, Sam’s family feels a second wave coming and begins to run further away from the water and to the safety of dry land, quite a feat considering Sam’s mother has MS and at times has trouble walking let alone running.

On the other side of the world, Beth is panicking as she watches the news and discovers the tsunami has hit the area in which her family is staying. She cannot reach her parents via cell phone. All lines are down. There is no way she can find out if they are alive. She decides she has to get to Thailand and find them herself. After a long trip, she makes her way to the resort and begins the treacherous job of finding her parents and brother. Will she succeed?

The story is graphic, yet realistic, in its detail of the devastation of this once beautiful country.