“Brave Water” is the tale of Talitha, a girl living in the Great Red Valley in contemporary East Africa.
Months ago, her father was killed in an accident at the nearby emerald mine. Talitha and her mother live in a hut of ‘Others,’ the widows and orphans of her tribe. Every day, Talitha must make the hours-long journey to retrieve drinking water for her family. In “Brave Water,” we follow Talitha through a single day of this life, in which an encounter with human traffickers sends her daily mission spinning out of control. Only Talitha’s courage stands between her loved ones and a fate worse than death.
The book’s foreword is clear that the Great Red Valley is fictional, a geographic and cultural mixture of East Africa, with all its beauty and dangers. The subject matter is non-graphic, but heavy. Debut author Sarah Robsdottir starkly portrays the evils faced by many in African nations: human trafficking, exploitative foreign interests, violence, water and resource scarcity, religious intolerance and unforgiving natural dangers. A glossary and appendices at the end of the novel give real-world context to these issues. Robsdottir was inspired by the story of St. Josephine Bakhita, a survivor of the slave trade and patron saint of Sudan, and the novel is dedicated to her.
The novel’s first theme is courage in the face of danger. The second is repentance. A pair of brothers run the emerald mine that exploits the area socially and economically. Providentially, as Talitha’s adventure unfolds, one of these brothers is undergoing a profound conversion. His journey, just as much as Talitha’s, drives the plot of “Brave Water.” This is a profoundly spiritual story, in which the Christian faith of Talitha, her mother, and friends, is tested against paganism, depravity, and physical peril.
“Brave Water” is the debut novel for not only its author, but its publisher. Voyage Comics & Publishing is an up-and-coming publisher of Christian comic books, which has now ventured into novels. Most of their catalogue is geared toward a specifically Catholic audience, but “Brave Water” contains themes that Christians and thoughtful nonbelievers of all stripes can appreciate. The company’s mission states:
Our mission is to create exceptional entertainment, informed by Catholic values, that inspires people to live a heroic life. Through our products, we seek to advance the truth, beauty and goodness found in powerful stories.
“Brave Water” is one such story. Young readers would be highly edified to spend a day walking in Talitha’s shoes.
This review is part of a series highlighting emerging young adult and children’s literature for conservative families. If you have a work or publisher to recommend, please contact the author at [email protected].