A Bottle in the Gaza Sea

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valérie Zenatti translated by Adriana Hunter; 2005; Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books

This story written in the form of journal entries, e-mails and instant messages from the point of view of Tal , a seventeen year old Israeli young woman living in Jerusalem as well as Naim, a twenty year old Palestinian young man from Gaza. After Naim finds a letter in a bottle that Tal put into the Gaza Sea, they begin to send emails back a forth and slowly, very slowly, a relationship begins to grow. Each must overcome the realistic pressures of their worlds while trying to understand the world of their electronic pen pal. Interwoven between the exchanging emails are first person journal entries in which both characters struggle to comprehend and understand this new friendship that fosters over the internet and what it means for their viewpoint of the of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A big idea within the entire book is the idea of conflict resolution both between individuals as well as on a much larger scale between peoples. The bombing within Jerusalem and the Israeli occupation of the Gaza strip is a constant reminder to both characters of the incredibly complex situation between Israel and Palestine. Both characters want peace however they don't know how to achieve it or what concession will have to be made. There is anger on both sides as peace talks have failed multiple times within each of their lives. Conflict resolution, especially when there is a lot at stake, is something that students should appreciate how difficult it actually is.

I envision this book to have a lot of success within a classroom. First, the medium in which the two characters communicate is one that young students will be able to relate to. There is a lot that an English teacher can do with tone, voice of the speaker, and point of view throughout the entire novel. At the same time, this is a great opportunity to spend time sharing with students the complex nature of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. It is an issue that they will probably have to understand as an adult. Finally, I imagine an English teacher could develop writing exercises based on e-mailing students at other schools, potentially in anther part of the country or even internationally.