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2026 Asian/Pacific American Honor Title for Young Adult Literature

“Sindu’s profound, crisp, and well-organized story beautifully weaves together the haunting yet splendid nature of Sri Lanka during a period of civil war that lasted generations, as well as the tsunami that changed the lives of millions both within and beyond the island. Throughout, she raises poignant questions about what makes people choose to stay or go in times of war…Nimmi’s coming-of-age journey and a search for identity and queer joy during times of strife is powerful example of comic storytelling as resilience and resistance.”

—Booklist, Starred Review

“This graphic novel’s most powerful pages are the wordless ones showing the tsunami and the wreckage and ruin it leaves behind. The characters’ human resilience and grit shine through beautifully in the straightforward text and fluid artwork executed in a muted palette. The book offers glimpses of the long-running conflict in Sri Lanka, its political and social history, the presence of international media, and the complexities of migration. Parenthood, found family, migration, and war are some of the themes that run through this poignant narrative. A strikingly illustrated story of love and war.”

—Kirkus Reviews

Tall Water: A Graphic Novel

Written by SJ Sindu
Illustrated by Dion MBD
Published by HarperAlley

Ever since she turned sixteen, Nimmi has wanted to see her mother. Though she has a loving but overprotective father and a budding relationship, she yearns to travel to Sri Lanka to confront the mother who refused to leave the island during a war, not even for Nimmi’s sake. Her father is going back for the first time as a reporter on assignment, but he refuses to take her, deeming Sri Lanka too dangerous.

But then Nimmi’s mother appears to her in a dream, asking her to come find her, and Nimmi knows she must go. Her father is livid when he sees her at baggage claim, but by then it’s too late, and he reluctantly agrees to help Nimmi make contact with her mother. In Sri Lanka, Nimmi tags along with her father and his guide, past checkpoints and armed soldiers and increasing hints of the war that rages there.

However, the day after Christmas, disaster strikes and a tsunami ravages the island. Stranded amid the devastation and destruction, can Nimmi reunite with her mother? Through her journey, Nimmi might just learn that the person she most needed to find was herself.

Primary ISBN: 9780063090163
Publication Date: August 2025
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Young Adult, Age 13 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Setting: United States (South Dakota), Sri Lanka

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Refugee, Home Country

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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