Tall Water follows Nimmi as she travels to Sri Lanka to spend the summer with her mother, who has been living in Sri Lanka for her whole life. As their relationship starts to repair, a tsunami hits the island. This coming-of-age graphic novel is tragic and hopeful. It falls outside of the age range of my students, but I would recommend it for middle and/or high school libraries.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Nimmi has never lived with her mother, except through letters of correspondence. With her mother running an orphanage in Sri Lanka, Nimmi is desperate to meet her finally. However, when her father receives notice to be a journalist once more in Sri Lanka, he refuses to let his daughter accompany him. War is happening there, and everything is dangerous. But Nimmi makes her own choice and buys a plane ticket, meeting her dad at the airport. Through a stark change in everyday life in Sri Lanka, Nimmi finds her voice amongst the people. Yet, something dangerous is coming, and everything will change forever.
Not quite as interesting as SJ Sindu’s Shakti, this graphic novel is more realistic about the onset of war and the choices people make as a result. The relationship between Nimmi and her mother is balanced on a thin line of misunderstandings and hard decisions. I wish there were more background information on Nimmi’s dream world, especially regarding her wings. Otherwise, this graphic piece is part contemporary and part magical realism.

I really loved the artwork in this story, I felt as though it played along with the story very well and brought it to life. Overall I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to others. Especially if you’re looking for something that’ll get your mind thinking and just put you in the feels.

The story begins with Nimmi experiencing vivid dreams of her mother in Sri Lanka, which she interprets as a sign to reconnect. The problem? Her dad doesn’t have a visa to visit, and she’s not allowed to go alone. But once his visa is reinstated for a work assignment—to cover the ongoing war—Nimmi decides to use his money to secretly book her own flight and “surprise” him. And I have to say, her dad’s reasoning for wanting her to stay home made complete sense. He’s not going on vacation; he’s heading into an active war zone for work. What exactly did she think was going to happen?

It was hard not to read the entire book and think, “You are flying into a war zone! What are you thinking?”

Also, the book is marketed as being about Nimmi reconnecting with her mother after the Indian Ocean tsunami, but that disaster doesn’t even happen until the last fourth of the book. And even then, she seems to connect more with a girl from the Red Cross than with her actual mom. Meanwhile, her boyfriend is back home, watching her cat.

The art in this book isn’t my favorite (I’m definitely more partial to vibrant, colorful styles), but I felt it fit the tone of the novel. I read another review that criticized Tall Water for being too graphic in its depictions of violence, but I disagree. This book is meant for young adults, and I think the violence shown isn’t overly graphic. Blood is depicted, but it’s not gory. I actually think the way war is portrayed here is realistic and grounded.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this Advanced Copy!

Available August 2025.

SJ Sindu is one of my favorite queer South Asian authors - the beautiful way she addresses storytelling and family relations. What struck me most about this book is the way the start and end are mirror reflections of each other, this book doesn't shy away from the complicated history of Tamil resistance in Sri Lanka, but it sees the people as everyday people navigating complicated relationships. As a reader, I am left emotionally gutted but whole, like water folding in on itself.

An emotionally complex story that covers a lot. Shines light on a lesser-known conflict and natural disaster. Really well done.

I'm not one for historical reads, but this book brought me in. From the beginning, I wanted to know why Nimmi's mom did not follow her family to the United States. Nimmi decides to go to Sri Lanka against her father's will to meet her mother who she hasn't seen since she was very little. Nimmi learns about her country and why her mother made the decisions she did.

i know very little about Sri Lanka, let alone the devastating tsunami that happened in 2004. this is a YA historical graphic novel about nimmi who is graduating high school and isn't entirely sure what she wants to do but she knows she wants to make a difference. she's been writing letters back and forth with her mother in Sri Lanka who she's never met. Her father ends up on an assignment in Sri Lanka but he doesn't want her to go with because it's dangerous. regardless of that nimmi finds her way to Sri Lanka. there she witnesses war, connects with her mother, and ends up finding herself in the process. this was a beautiful, emotional, and important graphic novel. i know very little about Sri Lanka, let alone the devastating tsunami that happened there. i'm walking away knowing more than i've ever known about Sri Lanka and i really value that.

Thoughtful book that focuses on the issues at hand with the war in Sri Lanka. A mom had to make a tough decision to save her daughter or save the lives of other children who are orphaned. We journey through the lives of Nimm and her mother as they navigate separation. Nimm misses the mother she never knew and is still trying to figure out her life while working as a student journalist. Finally, her dad gets an assignment in Sri Lanka and she secretly follows him despite his clear instructions for her not to follow him. She learns new things about her parent's past and sees a side of war that she has never seen before. A great,. well-written, thought-provoking novel!

As a South Asian myself, after reading this novel, I realised how little history do I know about other South Asian countries around me. The book did an excellent job in rooting the characters in the culture and their traditions while showing the impact the war had made in the region. The conversation about identity, colonialism, and war was written in a simple way that would help teenagers learn about the diversity they are surrounded with.

Trigger Warnings
- Gore, war-related violence, death (all on page)

My Thoughts
This was such a powerful story. The art style was well-suited to the mature themes included. While the FMC could be annoying at times, it makes sense given all that she is going through on top of the regular struggles of adolescence. It was heartbreaking to see the realities of Sri Lanka, both regarding the impacts of war and the power of Mother Nature's wrath. This fast-paced graphic novel is a great way to introduce older YA readers to more mature topics.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAlley for the eARC!

I knew very little about Sri Lanka, and while this doesn’t really focus on the history of the country it did expand my knowledge of the war there. But I think it also shows a great example of the hardships multinational families face.

The art style has a realness and grit to it that is beautiful and fitting to the story.

It’s a very good coming of age story, although I think it could have benefited from a little more introspection.

A powerful coming-of-age teen graphic novel that follows one girl’s journey to Sri Lanka to reconnect with her long-lost mother during the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. 

A beautifully written and equally beautifully drawn story of a young woman about to go to college and begin her life. But something was always missing, her mother. Why was she not not with her and her father? Why did she not try harder to get the Vusa she needed to follow him to the U.S.?
She has so many things she's looking for, her mother, her future, her destiny, when what she really needs to find is herself.

Highly recommended. Expected publishing date August 12, 2025

Thanks to @netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperAlley for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Tall Water is a beautifully written and drawn coming of age story about a girl finding herself during tragedy. I absolutely adored the art style and thought that it matched the tone of the story very well. I learned a lot about both Nimmi's story and the history of Sri Lanka in the 90s and early 2000s. I highly recommend to a wide variety of audiences, because I truly think most people will take something away from this story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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.