Customer Reviews

Soul Surfer - A True Story Of Faith, Family, And Fighting To Get Back On The Board

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This was a wonderful story, written by Bethany Hammilton herself. It is very discriptive when describing the events on the day of the attack, and also talks about her life afterword. This is a book that is very hard to put down once you start it. It is a very quick read that is very injoyable. Bethany talks alot about her religion and how she believes that God has helped her and the He has a plan for her life. I highley recomend this book.

At just 13, Bethany Hamilton lost her left arm and a piece of her surfboard to a tiger shark, possibly limiting her accomplishments of her life forever. But did that stop her from surfing? Of course not! Ever since age three, Bethany has constantly been in the water, usually off the beach near her Kauai home. Her parents are probably most to blame. Both her father Tom and her mother Cheri supported her one hundred percent, because they had both surfed all their lives as well. But her parents are also her teachers, since she is homeschooled. Bethany has two older brothers, both surfers, and a best friend named Alana, another surfer, who stayed withher through the entire attack, surgery, and recovery. She has turned pro and is currently sponsored by her favorite surfboard and clothing manufacturer, RipCurl. Bethany really went against all odds the day she got back on the board. No one, not even her own family believed she would ever surf again, but the very first thing she did after the stitches were taken out was go out and buy a new board! Bethany is not only a celebrity in the surfing world, but in the general sports world as well. She has recieved the 2004 Teen Choice Award for Most Courageous Teen, the 2004 ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete, and was called "The Bravest Girl in America" by YM magazine. Soul Surfer is a triumphant and moving account of Bethany Hamilton's fight to get "back on the board."

Bethany throws her soul into surfing, calling her unique style of the sport "Soul Surfing." (Hence the title Soul Surfer). She may have lost her arm in the attack, but she could never lose her faith in God. Maybe her faith motivated her to try again, and it was so strong that she now competes professionally worldwide. Bethany has proved to the world that the body may be a substantial part of surfing, but it's the soul that counts.

Truthfully, Bethany's experience has made her a better person altogether, and probably even a better surfer! Her heartfelt passion for surfing has brought her closer to God in faith and in spirit, and could quite possibly prepare her for adulthood better than anything.

Bethany Hamilton's first-hand account of the full-on fight to keep surfing is worth the read all the way. This teenage autobiography would interest even the least likely of readers, Bethany's story is so amazing. I recommend Soul Surfer to anyone of any age.

-C. Edwards

Title: Soul Surfer
Author: Bethany Hamilton
Main Character: The main character is Bethany Hamilton. She is 13 years old, and she lives to surf.
Plot: Bethany and her friend were out laying on their boards talking on Halloween morning. All of a sudden, Bethany felt a tug. She looked down and saw a pool of blood. She remained calm and then she realized that her arm and a chunk of her surfboard had been bitten off. She paddled back to shore yelling, "I've been bitten by a shark!" This is the beginning of Bethany's battle. She never gave up. She exercised every day and never stopped believing in herself. Before she knew it, she was back on her board again!
Setting: Modern day, Kauai, Hawaii
Theme: Bethany was staying true to herself and God to get back on the board again.


I really liked this book because it relates to my life because I like surfing and she inspired me too. She showed me that even if something terrible has happened to you like losing an arm or a leg, you don't have to give up what you were doing. You can still accomplish your dreams!

Title:Soul Surfer
Author:Bethany Hamilton
Main Character:The main character in this book is Bethany Hamilton.She is thirteen years old.She lives to surf.
Plot:The plot in this story is that Bethany one Halloween morning she and her friend were just laying on their surfer boards in the water.Then allofasudden she feels a tug.Then she looks down and she sees a pool of blood. She remains calm and she realizes her arm is gone.She starts baddiling back to the shore and she yells shes been bitten by a shark.Thats the battle of her life.Bethany never gave up.She exercises every day.Then before she knew it she was back on the board surfering again.
Setting:Modern day Kauai,Hawaii
Theme:The theme is a life altering experince for her to beleive in god and to get back on the board.


I really like this book because it really relates to my life so much.Like how Bethanyloves too surf.cause i love to surf too.And how she beleivein god and how she got back on her board again!

the book came earlier then expected. it cam in great shape, and it was a great buy for my daughter. thanks mm

This book is an inspiration for 10 year olds up to adults. It is an easy read, but very compelling, and is great for both girls and boys. People have natural curiosity to hear "survivor" stories, and this book hits the spot, while leaving the reader encouraged to make a difference in their own life.

Bethany Hamilton is a strong in her faith, but when tradegdy strikes, will she ever have the faith to surf again? This is the amazing story of a whose faith and courage could help her surf again. Will it be enough? In this book it really shows the love and passion this has for the sport and the perseverance to take risks again. You will find that faith can be big enough for anything in life, even if you don't think so. This book is targeted to all ages, but mainly middle school students and up.
Soul Surfer is mainly for middle school s and up. I also think that this book targets the right audience. For example: indescribable, amputation, and traumatic. "I never saw the shark closing in on me. I'm glad that I never had a split second to wrap my head around the fact that I was being attacked." - Bethany Hamilton (Soul Surfer)
I think that this book is written in a passionate voice and it fits the character well. "Why did God choose me and what does he have in mind for me." -Bethany Hamilton (Soul Surfer) This book is written in first-person.
Soul Surfer is an easy book to follow. It explains points and what happened to Bethany in an easy to understand way. "It's a thirteen year old female and the arm is gone..." -Soul Surfer
I would recommend Soul Surfer to anyone really. Mainly s though. If you are interested in true stories, this would be a great book to read. I truly enjoyed this book and I think that it showed me how perseverance, courage, and strength are great things to have in life and they can really help in tremendous ways.

Personally I would not recommend this book unless you are a full on Christian. For more than half the book all she talks about is how all she did was pray and that God got her through all of her problems, and how her church and faith helped her most. The book was very boring, and every page was like the page before. My mind would always wander when I would read, because there was nothing exiting. So this is probably not the best book to read.

Good for Bethany, but this is still a stupid book.

I find it funny that she talks so much about God and Jesus and all that stuff. According to the native Hawaiians, the tiger sharks are called "amakua", which are sea gods. Maybe she should have prayed to the shark so she wouldn't be short one arm!