I really love graphic novels and I’ve loved both Shakti and Marriage of a Thousand Lies, so I was very excited to get my hands on Tall Water. I have vague recollections of the news when the tsunami hit Sri Lanka in 2004, but being in America and only 14, I was more insulated from the news. Seeing Nimmi’s story and the history of both of her parents was so engaging and I know I’m going to be doing some learning of my own. This was a great story and I really loved Nimmi’s journey.

This was a beautiful graphic novel with a moving story. I think young readers will gain a lot from learning about the tsunami, the school where the Nimmi’s mother works, and her emotional journey. Highly recommend.

I was blown away by this book. The art is gorgeous, the story is heartbreaking, the suspense of knowing what happened and seeing the characters live through such a terrifying moment in history, it was an astounding experience. I can't wait to recommend this book to people.

Quite liked this graphic novel. Follows a young half Sri Lankan woman who has been separated from her mother since she was young due to the Tamil revolution. Her journalist father gets an assignment at last to go back to Sri Lanka from the US and she sneaks along for the trip. On the trip, her eyes become open to the tumult in the region as well as her own identity.

Thanks to Harper Alley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

*Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for early copy for review*

I was want to say that this graphic novel had such a great art style.
Second I want to take time to say the focus on the civil war and tsunami of 2004 in Sri Lanka was not only something that I was not aware of, but I'm glad this author wrote this to bring more light to these struggles. With it being AAPI month I like to take the time and read from perspectives that are not seen everyday in media.

I always enjoy a coming of age story. Nimmi, our main character, really has her life together with top grades and a passion to want to be a journalist like her father. There is a hole missing in her life which is her mother though. While Nimmi lives in America her mother is back in her home country. I felt so bad for her that she kept getting denied the chance to see her mom. It's hard to imagine only having your mother in letters. This did such a great job of showing Nimmi having an idolized version of her mother in her head, and then when she met her having the feeling of meeting a stranger.

Highly recommend this title.

"Tall Water" by SJ Sindu is a stunning and haunting graphic novel that takes readers on an emotional journey through the tumultuous landscape of Sri Lanka during the 2004 tsunami. Nimmi's quest to reconnect with her estranged mother is beautifully illustrated by Dion MBD, capturing both the warmth of family ties and the devastating impact of historical events.

The dual narrative of love and loss resonates deeply, illustrating how our pasts shape who we are. Sindu’s adept storytelling and vibrant visuals make this a must-read for anyone who enjoys heartfelt tales of self-discovery and the complexities of family reconciliation. Mark your calendars for August 2025 – you won’t want to miss this! Thank you NetGalley and HarperAlley for the eARC.

1⭐️
My opinion: I wanted to dnf immediately, but decided to finish it because it was so short. I really didn’t like the drawing style in this book and it was unexpectedly really graphic which made me uncomfortable. This is my fourth 1⭐️ ever, a rating I reserve only for books I truly hate. I rated it this way for a few reasons: mostly because of how unsettlingly graphic the violent scenes are, but also because the whole book felt kind of unnecessary. The story is about the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which I was interested in learning more about. Nothing really sets this book apart from other recounts or retellings of this event though, nothing I haven’t heard before. If you’re interested in reading Tall Water, I highly recommend watching the movie ‘The Impossible’ instead, which portrays the event so much better.

genre: graphic novel, historical fiction
pov: first person, present tense
trope: -

Age rating: 14+
Violence: so. much. blood. People shed blood from getting scraped on their arms or legs, a guy gets a black eye, a guy gets hit in the head with the butt of a gun, he bleeds a lot, the illustrator drew the pages with violent scenes to look like they’re splattered with blood - it’s actually very unsettling. Kids drown (kind of graphic), de@d people float face down in the water
Romance: the fmc has a boyfriend
Drinking/drugs/smoking: people are seen smoking in the background of a couple illustrations (which I felt was unnecessary)
Language: 1 h3llh0le
Other: a girl kisses fmc on cheek twice throughout the book, there are obvious romantic feelings between them, but nothing happens more than that (this felt very unnecessary to the story)

Trigger warnings:
- blood (on-page)
- death (on-page)
- war (off-page)

Publish date: 12-August-2025
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

An incredibly moving, personal and eye-opening YA graphic novel about Nimmi, a biracial American Sri Lankan teen who tags along with her journalist father when he goes back to a war-torn Sri Lanka in December 2004, just before the country is ravaged by a freak tsunami.

Though mad when he discovers Nimmi came against his wishes, her dad does allow Nimmi to come with him as they travel to visit her mother's orphanage. The mother she hasn't seen since she was a tiny child. Along this journey, Nimmi is shocked by the occupation, the treatment of soldiers and eventually is able to make peace with her mother's abandonment, while also catching feelings for the cute young female guide who helps her and her father.

Highly recommended with absolutely GORGEOUS illustrations! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! I loved this book a LOT and can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy when it's released later this year.

Tall Water is a YA graphic novel by SJ Sindu and follows the character of Nimmi, a teen girl living in the US with her father while her mother, who she does not have a memory of, still lives in Sri Lanka, unable to get a visa to come to the US. Nimmi wants to go meet her and gets the opportunity when her father, a journalist, gets his visa reinstated to go cover the war in Sri Lanka. While there she learns more about the civil war going on in Sri Lanka and its effects on the people in the region. While there, she also experiences the 2004 tsunami and the destruction it brought to the region. So, while the readers enjoy Nimmi's coming of age story, they are also learning more about the history of the region. Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-ARC of Tall Water!
4 / 5 ⭐
Tall Water is a beautifully illustrated coming of age graphic novel centered on Nimmi - a 16 year Sri Lankan American who has never met her mother. She plans to visit her mother in Sri Lanka to change that but nothing goes as planned. The horrors of the war in Sri Lanka - which she has known about from afar - unfold around her in brutal honesty, teaching her what it means to bear witness to their horrors. A tsunami sweeps through the island, impacting everyone she’s met on her journey; the landscape is changed, and so is she. Learning what it means to rebuild after tragedy, Nimmi finds parts of herself on her journey despite devastating losses. Like Nimmi, we cannot look away.

“Tall Water” is a beautifully illustrated, emotional graphic novel.

It follows Nimmi, who travels to Sri Lanka for the first time to meet the mother she hasn't seen since she was a baby. As she stays at the orphanage her mother works at, she learns about her family's past and about Sri Lana’s civil war.

The story is touching and sad, especially as it builds toward a tragic tsunami that strikes the coast.

Overall, “Tall Water” is a moving exploration of identity, loss, and connection — the novel will resonate with many readers.

This book wasn't what I expected. There were definitely a few missing elements to it, I feel like there could have been more details behind the drawings and the symbolism between the way the book started and ended. I would recommend this book to those who like history and those who like learning about real events.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book for me to review.

"Tall Water" is a coming-of-age graphic novel that teaches readers about the importance of perspective, empathy, and bearing witness. Nimmi's family is separated by more than just distance as her parents were forced to take different paths during the Sri Lankan civil war. Having never met her mother and having maintained correspondence only through letters and awkward phone calls, Nimmi is reunited with her mom for the first time since she was just a baby and has to confront her emotions of being left behind.

The novel moves quickly and smoothly aided by the clear and beautifully illustrated pages. Unlike some graphic novels, the characters in "Tall Water" feel well developed and complex. While there were times I felt Nimmi's actions were a bit childish for an eighteen year old, the reasons behind her behavior felt realistic.

I would definitely read another of Sindu's books, and I'll be on the look out for more of Dion MBD's gorgeous work!

I enjoyed reading and learning about a place I have never been and a culture I know very little about. The family struggles however are a universal phenomenon and I feel the author handles it well.

3.5 and rounding up. One of the things I like best in graphic novels is gaining a deeper understanding of events and ideas. Tall Water did this both with the war in Sri Lanka and the devastating tsunami. As the emotion grew, I was fully engrossed in the story and the poignant art style. The pacing did feel a little abrupt at times and I wish we'd gotten to explore a little more into Nimmi's personal growth, but overall I liked this.

A heart wrenching and incredibly human depiction of civilians impacted by war and a natural disaster

This graphic novel was a masterpiece in storytelling. At the end, in the author’s letter, she says that the events of the book were based on experiences she and her friends and family had. Every moment of the story felt so real, I had no doubt that it was based on real experiences, even before reading that letter. I loved going on this journey with our main character, 17-year-old Nimmi. My biggest pet peeve when I read books about teenagers is usually that their actions and logic don’t make sense. Of course, from an outsider’s perspective a teen’s logic can be very skewed, but inside someone’s mind, they always have reasons for what they do. From the very first few pages of this book, though, I was struck by how fleshed out Nimmi’s character was. Sometimes I didn’t agree with her choices, but I could see exactly where she was coming from. Her anger, passion, fear, and sadness all made perfect sense to me.

The emotional impact of this graphic novel was intense. I didn’t know anything about the Sri Lankan Civil War before reading this. The depiction of war and natural disaster was so visceral that I am tearing up again just writing this review. It wasn’t gory necessarily, but the suffering came clearly through the pages. It was hard to see, but just like the tagline on the back cover says, you can’t and shouldn’t look away.

There was a tiny bit of wlw romance, and I liked how it was done. There wasn’t a lot of time spent building it up, but it also didn’t feel random. The mother-daughter relationship exploration was also well done. I did wish during a few moments that Nimmi’s Amma’s expression more clearly showed hesitation when she didn’t answer Nimmi’s questions, but the payoff of the reveals were good, so it wasn’t a big deal. The art told the story well enough, but there were just a few moments when the anatomy was off and that took me out of the immersion a little bit. Overall, it was an incredibly raw, realistic, and hopeful depiction of people trying to survive and find humanity during war. This is a very age-appropriate way to help highschoolers build empathy and activism for people going through global crises around the world.

Thank you to netGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC.

Tall Water follows the story of Nimmi as she takes life into her own hands to find out more about herself, her family, and her past by going to Sri Lanka with her father (more or less without his permission). This is part of her heritage, and she wants to feel a better sense of belonging than the life she is living back home in the United States.
This coming of age story is intense and deep, not shying away from the realities of coming to a war torn country that has a deep complicated situation embroiled in it. Having not known a lot of what was going on in Sri Lanka and the civil war that was erupting during that time, it was a huge eye opener on how isolated people would feel once they left these kinds of situations, and how easy it is for others to not care if they or their loved ones were not the ones in danger.
This graphic novel is well written, drawn, and the story it tells is one of love, heartbreak, war, and circumstance can help us feel more connected to the people in our own world.

Tall Water is heartbreaking but also quite tender at times. As Nimmi navigates her feelings around a mother she's never met before, we also see her genuine connection to others around her, from caring for the children her mother watches over, to the budding relationship formed with Sheila, who was initially her guide. I found myself quite invested in Nimmi's connection to her heritage, her parents, and curious how she would navigate her return to America after her time in Sri Lanka. I would certainly read a follow up if ever there was one, and would've loved more development between Nimmi and Sheila, and Nimmi and her mother. The story does not shy away from the horrors of both war and natural disaster, and might be very eye opening for some readers. I thought the art was an effective balance of soft and detailed, able to express connection, fear, and hardship, though I did find the illustration style of the young children a little confusing/off-putting. I was immediately struck by the beauty of the opening pages; Like a still frame from an animation, the images of winged Nimmi portray such a strong sense of movement and atmosphere.

Tall Water was such a beautiful emotional read. A coming of age story that explores reconnection with one's family and homeland through the lens of a natural disaster and a civil war. Though the story deals with heavy topics, it is a book that feels full of love and hope. A really interesting YA graphic novel!

Nimmi has seemingly always felt out of place at home, at school, and in herself. Having so much uncertainty as a backdrop to her life is such a driving force within Nimmi's overall arc in finding all of the truths she can. She wants to discover where she belongs, where she came from, who her mother is--all of her answers are found within her time in Sri Lanka. Told through vibrant, detail oriented art, Tall Water explores the complexities of impossible decisions and circumstances, as well as how those specifics are difficult to process even with explanation. Nimmi finding out why her relationship with her mother unfolded how it did doesn't make it any easier to comprehend. Even in her sleep, Nimmi yearned for authentic connection with her mother and their arc together felt really grounded.

There were points where Nimmi's dialogue and behaviors felt a bit too immature for her age, but she is charting such incomprehensible circumstances so reverting to childlike behaviors is believable in a way. I appreciated the duality of the reality of war and the propaganda that's spewed about it. This graphic novel's greatest asset is delving into the actuality of war through the lens of an outsider seeing it for the first time. Nimmi's learning facets when the audience is and I have no doubt that readers will not only want to learn more about Sri Lanka but also themselves in the end.