A TERRIBLE TIDE

The 1929 Newfoundland Burin Peninsula tsunami, seen through the eyes of a 13-year-old girl.

It is early evening on Nov. 18, 1929, and in the small fishing village of Taylor’s Bay, Celia Matthews is at home with her family when the earth begins to shake. Startled, the family runs outside, where they see most of their neighbors. They eagerly trade thoughts of what has caused it, and when the rumbling subsides, the families gradually go back inside to their dinners. But Celia is worried about her dog, Boomer. Her mother forbids her to look for him, but Celia, pretending she needs to use the outhouse, goes anyway. Outside, she notices an odd sight; the waters of the bay are receding rapidly. She stares, transfixed, and then begins to hear the shouts of alarm, as the tidal wave created by the earthquake comes rushing in. She runs for her life but is overtaken by the wave of cold water, described thrillingly. Boomer helps her, and they are both rescued by neighbors. Sticking to facts within Celia’s first-person narration, the tale will transfix readers with both the adventure of the tidal wave and its aftermath and the many historical details that bring to life an isolated but close-knit fishing community without electricity or motors and with both the general store’s newly installed telephone and the telegraph knocked out by the wave. All characters read as White.

Gripping and strengthening.