Terry Pratchett 
Nation [EPUB ebook] 
A Printz Honor Winner

When a giant wave destroys his village, Mau is the only one left. Daphnea traveler from the other side of the globeis the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Separated by language and customs, the two are united by catastrophe. Slowly, they are joined by other refugees. And as they struggle to protect the small band, Mau and Daphne defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down.