The Killing Sea

"Drawing on experience as a volunteer relief worker in Indonesia and interviews with survivors, Lewis applies two human faces to the devastating 2005 tsunami. Toggling between two teens, Ruslan, an artistic Indonesian male, and Sarah, a slightly stereotypical spoiled American on vacation, readers are provided a multi-dimensional view of the region slightly before, during and after the tsunami strikes. This delivers a vivid and unflinching account applicable to a global audience. Despite its focus on the tsunami, elements of the region's political unrest are also woven into the main storyline, increasing the drama of the narrative. However, Indonesia's internal struggle takes a back seat to the tsunami and, unfortunately, is not adequately explained; this proves to be potentially confusing at times. Despite the emotional heaviness of this fictional story, Lewis tempers the tsunami's horror with Ruslan and Sarah's durable sense of hope and their new, but strongly forged friendship, which by the end borders on romance." - Kirkus Reviews

"Drawing from his own experience as a rescue worker, Lewis creates a powerful fictional tale of survival and cooperation in the wake of the 2004 tsunami that killed nearly a quarter of a million people and devastated much of the Southeast Asian coastline. Set on the western coast of Sumatra where the waves first hit land, the story centers on Ruslan, a local teenager searching corpse-strewn ruins for his father, and Sarah, a young American tourist desperately seeking medical help for her little brother. Falling in with a small group of other survivors, the three young people wander through shattered villages, seeing bodies dumped into hastily dug mass graves and people fired upon as suspected rebels, but also witnessing much kindness (except at the end, when, rescued at last, they are set upon by avid journalists and other Ugly Americans). Although many of Lewis' descriptions are horrifyingly vivid, Ruslan's resilience and Sarah's emotional numbness will give readers some shielding. An afterword is appended." - John Peters, Booklist