Nation by Terry Pratchett

This unique story is kind of a fantasy, but more of an adventure/survival book. It does take place in an alternate reality, but it's a world much like ours without magical creatures or fantasy elements. Mau is a boy living on a small island and his people call themselves The Nation. He is in a canoe on the ocean when a tsunami devastates his island and kills everyone he has ever known. That same tsunami shipwrecks a young British girl on Mau's island and the two strangers slowly grow to be friends, allies, and creators of a new Nation. Both young characters question everything they have ever known—Mau must ask if his Nation's Gods are real and why they would destroy their own Nation. Daphne questions everything she has learned about what it means to be a proper young lady. Both children find they are more capable leaders than they could have ever imagined and together they unearth a secret about the Nation that changes world history. It's a deep story that is both adventurous and moving and will leave readers thinking for a long time. Recommended for both kids and adults.