Reviewed by Dianna Geers for TeensReadToo.com
Casey is the Senior Patrol leader of his Boy Scout troop, and they are about to hike and stay in a remote area in their native land of Hawaii. This place had been almost completely wiped out from a long-ago volcanic eruption, but there is a small oasis of quiet beauty in the area that remained. That's where the boys will be camping.
Casey is not excited when a tough boy named Louie shows up. He's not a Scout, but his Scoutmaster invited him along to see if he would be interested in joining. He makes Casey uncomfortable, but there's nothing he can do about it. And Casey only thinks that having Louie on his case constantly is the biggest thing he has to worry about on that trip.
Until it hits. "It" is an actual event that happened in this same area in 1975. An earthquake, which causes part of the land to collapse into the ocean, and that also causes a tsunami that covers the sunken land with water beyond belief. Palm trees, under which some of his troop had been sleeping, stand in the middle of the ocean. He doesn't know where anyone is, if they are okay, or if he will survive himself.
Graham Salisbury's cousin was a Scout who happened to be on just such a trip with his troop when the historical tsunami hit. He took the author to the land many years later. The detailed descriptions of the events and setting could only be told by an excellent storyteller and someone who truly experienced this unbelievable event. This is a great adventure of survival and a coming-of-age story.
Casey is the Senior Patrol leader of his Boy Scout troop, and they are about to hike and stay in a remote area in their native land of Hawaii. This place had been almost completely wiped out from a long-ago volcanic eruption, but there is a small oasis of quiet beauty in the area that remained. That's where the boys will be camping.
Casey is not excited when a tough boy named Louie shows up. He's not a Scout, but his Scoutmaster invited him along to see if he would be interested in joining. He makes Casey uncomfortable, but there's nothing he can do about it. And Casey only thinks that having Louie on his case constantly is the biggest thing he has to worry about on that trip.
Until it hits. "It" is an actual event that happened in this same area in 1975. An earthquake, which causes part of the land to collapse into the ocean, and that also causes a tsunami that covers the sunken land with water beyond belief. Palm trees, under which some of his troop had been sleeping, stand in the middle of the ocean. He doesn't know where anyone is, if they are okay, or if he will survive himself.
Graham Salisbury's cousin was a Scout who happened to be on just such a trip with his troop when the historical tsunami hit. He took the author to the land many years later. The detailed descriptions of the events and setting could only be told by an excellent storyteller and someone who truly experienced this unbelievable event. This is a great adventure of survival and a coming-of-age story.
