The Terrible Wave

I remember the first time I read this book, at around eight or nine years old. It was one of those days when we’d had a busy morning, and I just wanted to get outside to play, and Mom made me sit down and read this book as part of my schoolwork. “Just one chapter,” she said, “and then you

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can go play.” Well…I read that chapter, and by the time I got to the end of it, I had to read the next…and the next…and the next. It was the first time I can recall being so hooked by a story that I lost track of time. I remember coming up for air an hour or two later, realizing time had passed, and looking at the story in my lap, marveling that a book could affect you that much. I don’t think I finished the book that day, but that instance was one of the things that pushed me over the line from being a casual reader to a dedicated reader.

And now, years down the track, this is probably at least my third reading of the story, and this time, I read it aloud to my siblings—ranging in age from late teens right down to the three-year-old. We all loved it. This isn’t a long book, but the way Marden Dahlstedt writes draws you into the scenes in Johnstown in 1889, and along with the main character, you see the wave coming that devastates the town, confusedly ride the water as it swirls around you, and stare horror-stricken at the animals, houses, and whatever else that’s thrust past your precarious perch. This story is a wave all its own…one that sweeps you back to 1889, and doesn’t let go until the very last page. We had to break up reading this book over five evenings, and each time it came time to stop for the night, we all wished we could continue.

If you or your children enjoy well-written stories of disasters, adventure, and hope winning over despair, this would be a great read for you. I’d recommend it to all my younger friends, and if I ever manage to find a copy of my own, it will be a treasured possession. Highly recommended!

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