Categorized | Books, Entertainment

Book Review: ‘The Wave’ by Tom Miller

“On July 9, 1958, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck Lituya Bay, Alaska, dislodging approximately 40 million cubic yards of rock from the surrounding mountainsides. This landslide generated the largest wave ever recorded in human history. The mega-tsunami that decimated Lituya Bay up-rooted trees over 1,700 feet above sea level. Because of its remoteness only two lives were lost.

The Big Island of Hawaii is literally surrounded by under-sea landslides of colossal size. Many of these slides displaced thousands of cubic kilometers of water, generating mega-tsunamis of unimaginable dimensions. Scientists have recently identified tsunami deposits left by these incredible waves over 1,600 feet above the ancient sea level. While the most recent mega-tsunami to strike the Hawaiian Islands happened approximately 100,000 years ago, that doesn’t mean another one couldn’t happen tomorrow. When it does, there may not be any warning.” — The Wave, Tom Miller

Finn Gallagher | Hawaii 24/7 Student Reporter

This book was very rich with science information, also packing in enough adventure and suspense to send the human mind racing through the next chapters.

The main characters, Chuck and Scott, have been together through a lot, their cutting edge personalities and determined attitudes make them perfect for this book. I almost wish that I could emulate Scott’s risky actions or smart ass remarks; he seems to know just what would work in their adventures.

As a resident of the state of Hawaii, it was very interesting and at the same time frightening. What is interesting about this is I have been to many places these characters go to. What I found frightening is that a tsunami like this could actually take place.

Toward the end of the book, I thought it was good that the author shortened the stories of people who had been affected by the tsunami to create the most suspence.

What I didn’t like about this book was that the author didn’t tell what happened to certain characters at the end. (But I won’t spoil it by saying any more.)

If I was thinking from the author’s point of view, I would be thinking to create the a lot of suspense so its builds up so that the people would be asking for more so then I would write a second book. And I would want to read another book by Tom Miller about Chuck and Scott.

As a resident of Hawaii, reading a story about a massive disaster that basically causes the destruction of my state was very uncomfortable, but also exhilarating.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who would like a good thriller, also to people who are interested in tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes.

Now that I have read this book, I will be paying closer attention to tsunami and volcano warnings!

(Gallagher is a freshman at Konawaena High School. He enjoys playing tennis, playing video games and reading. He counts Dan Brown among his favorite authors and ‘Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing’ among his all-time favorite books.)

— Find out more:
www.megatsunami2012.com

One Response to “Book Review: ‘The Wave’ by Tom Miller”

  1. A.Alba says:

    Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing rules, I loved that book. Thanks for the review, I might look into this to sate my cravings for hypothetical natural disasters (as opposed to real ones which just bring misery).

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