NOVEL

Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton

In her new memoir, Hamilton, now 14, recalls her terrifying 2003 encounter with a 15-ft. tiger shark.

He was slow and silent; he really crept up on me. If I had had my head turned I would have seen everything: the rolled-back eyes, the triangle-shaped teeth, the sandpaper-like skin, the pointy snout, the pulled-back gums. Luckily, all I saw was a blur.

It's funny—you would think having your arm bitten off would really hurt. But there was no pain at the time. I felt pressure and kind of a jiggle-jiggle tug.... One thought kept repeating over and over in my head: 'Get to the beach.'