Reviewed
Read Time
8 min read
Our age bandAges 14+ · Young adult
Reader rating
4.7 · 1,971 Amazon ratings, as of Nov 2026
reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks scoreShare This Review
Our review
Soul Surfer
Soul Surfer Review: A Faith-Centred Survivor Memoir (Bethany Hamilton)
by Bethany Hamilton, Sheryl Berk, Rick Bundschuh
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board is Bethany Hamilton's memoir of losing her arm to a shark at 13 and returning to competitive surfing. One blogger rated it four stars, and the publisher calls it a #1 New York Times bestseller.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Worth it if
Worth reading if you want a recovery story in which belief and family carry the weight, with the blogger at Book Lover Book Reviews finding the faith integral rather than preachy.
What readers & critics say
The book works as an uplifting, sincere recovery memoir, and the one review we found leans positive: Book Lover Book Reviews gave it four out of five, praising its faith, family support and respect for Hawaiian culture. Wikipedia's mixed critical reception concerns the 2011 film, not the memoir, so the book's critical record rests on that single blog review.
Sources: Book Lover Book Reviews4.7from 1,971 Amazon ratings, as of Nov 2026— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
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Soul Surfer is Bethany Hamilton's first-person account of surfing again after a shark took her arm at 13, written with Sheryl Berk and Rick Bundschuh. The blogger at Book Lover Book Reviews found it an uplifting, engaging memoir of recovery and, though it is aimed at Christian readers, faith-forward without feeling preachy. The caveat: it leaves out the family strain that surfaced later through the film.
- Is it worth reading?
- The blogger at Book Lover Book Reviews rated it four out of five stars and called it a powerful disability memoir about faith, resilience and healing. The main caveat is its audience: Wikipedia describes it as a straightforward account aimed at Christian readers, so it delivers most for people who want belief at the centre. Readers wanting more than a plain, inspirational telling will find less of the family's doubts than the film later brought out.
- Similar books
- For another book by the same author, Be Unstoppable: The Art of Never Giving Up carries Hamilton's story forward. Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic shares the disability-and-faith angle. Beyond that, Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Educated by Tara Westover are memoirs of recovery and self-reinvention, though neither is faith-centred. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is a survival-and-resilience story from a different era.
- Who should read this?
- Teens and those seeking belief at the centre of a recovery story will get the most from it, and the blogger also recommends it to readers drawn to disability and healing narratives. It suits anyone interested in how a young athlete rebuilt her technique and competitive goals after losing an arm. It is a weaker fit for readers wanting an account that digs into family conflict.
- What age is it for?
- The publisher lists the book for readers 14 and up, at a grade level of 9 to 12. The sources flag no specific content warnings beyond the real shark attack and its aftermath, and no review we found addresses suitability for younger children.
- Tell me about the adaptation
- The 2011 film, directed by Sean McNamara, starred AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany, with Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid as her parents. Wikipedia reports it earned $47.1 million against an $18 million budget. Per Wikipedia, the film drew praise for its visuals, performances and message, but also criticism as melodramatic and heavy-handed.
- Is the audiobook worth it?
- The blogger at Book Lover Book Reviews listened to the audiobook and noted a short guitar riff that closes each chapter. No source we found gives the narrator or running time, and no review compares the audio experience directly with the print edition.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
What age is it for?
Tell me about the adaptation
Is the audiobook worth it?
Summarize this book
Bethany Hamilton grows up on Kauai in a family of surfers until a tiger shark bites off her left arm on Halloween morning in 2003. The memoir follows her paddling to shore, her rehabilitation, the changes she makes to her surfing style, and her bid for a strong showing at the World Surfing Championships. It also covers the sudden fame that followed, including media appearances and the Hollywood adaptation.
Follow up
Is the shark attack the main focus?
Is it a novel or a true story?
Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review
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Our Review
We review the evidence: published critics, reader verdicts and BookTube reviews, gathered and weighed with AI assistance and edited by LuvemBooks, rather than one reader's first-hand take.
The book blogger behind Book Lover Book Reviews rated it four out of five stars, calling it an uplifting, engaging memoir of trauma, recovery and spiritual grit. It is worth reading for Bethany Hamilton's account of faith and family, though it is told for a Christian audience.
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board (An Inspiring True Story) by Bethany Hamilton, Sheryl Berk, Rick Bundschuh front cover
What happens in Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board?
This is a memoir, not a novel. Bethany Hamilton, written with Sheryl Berk and Rick Bundschuh, tells of growing up in Kauai, Hawaii, in a family of surfers.
On Halloween morning in 2003, when she was 13, a tiger shark bit off her left arm while she was out on a board.
The publisher's description says she pushed pain and panic aside and paddled in with one arm, thinking only "Get to the beach." It adds that the first thing she wanted to know after surgery was when she could surf again.
The book follows her recovery, the changes she made to her surfing style, and her bid for a top showing in the World Surfing Championships. The publisher frames her belief in God as the book's most fundamental thread.
It was published in 2006 by MTV Books in this reprint edition. Wikipedia dates the original book to 2004, while this reprint edition came out in 2006.
What did the Book Lover Book Reviews blogger find in Hamilton's memoir?
The blogger behind Book Lover Book Reviews called it a powerful disability memoir about faith, resilience and healing. The review says Hamilton was a girl of faith before the attack and during recovery, and that her story is grounded in that faith without being preachy.
Her family gets credit too: supportive parents and brothers, plus a strong friend group around her in the aftermath. The blogger's favourite moment is her work with a blind therapist, which the blogger read as peer support, healing guided by someone who also lives with a disability.
The review also praises how Hamilton treats Hawaiian culture. As a white surfer raised in Hawaii, she shares what she has learned about the Indigenous roots of surfing and credits Hawaiian words and traditions.
Her admiration for her Hawaiian coach is part of that, and the blogger calls such awareness rare in faith-based memoirs.
The later chapters turn to sudden fame, from media appearances to the Hollywood adaptation, with awkward encounters and difficult public questions included. The blogger listened to the audiobook, where a short guitar riff closes each chapter.
Is Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board worth reading?
Weighing these reviews, the tension is between an inspirational record and a faith testimony. The blogger found the faith integral but not preachy.
Wikipedia's account of the film's development describes the book as a straightforward account aimed at Christian readers.
That description points the book towards teens and adults who want a recovery story with belief at its centre. It also suits readers drawn to disability and healing narratives, which is how the blogger recommends it.
It points away from readers wanting a secular sports memoir, or one that digs into family conflict. According to Wikipedia, the filmmakers met the Hamiltons because of doubts about their faith and Bethany's worries about her appearance.
Those came out through the film's development, not the book.
The publisher's page notes an age range of 14 and up and a grade level of 9 to 12.
How did the Soul Surfer film adaptation fare?
The 2011 film, directed by Sean McNamara, starred AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany, with Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid as her parents. Wikipedia reports it earned $47.1 million against an $18 million budget.
Its critical reception was mixed. Per Wikipedia, the film drew praise for its visuals, performances and message, but also criticism as melodramatic and heavy-handed.
That split concerns the film, not the memoir. The book's own sourced praise comes from the blogger, and the publisher's page calls it a number-one New York Times bestseller.
Readers who know only the movie will find a faith-forward telling.
Who wrote Soul Surfer, and what is the commercial angle?
Hamilton is the surfer at the centre of the story. According to the publisher, she received the 2004 Teen Choice award for Most Courageous Teen and the 2004 ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete.
Rick Bundschuh is a writer who serves as a pastor at Kauai Christian Fellowship, per the publisher. Sheryl Berk is credited as the third author.
That pastoral connection fits the book's evangelical framing, and readers should know it going in. The memoir presents its faith as lived experience, and nothing in the sources says it requires buying anything beyond the book itself.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- Further reading
- 2
en.wikipedia.org
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Age & Reading Level
Our age band
Ages 14+
Reading level
Young adult
Amazon listing
Ages 14 and up · Grade 9–12
Our age band groups books for browsing; it isn't an age a review gave.
3 content notes · who it suits
Content to know about
a shark attack causing loss of a limb
a young person's trauma and recovery
evangelical Christian framing throughout
Best for: Ages 14+ — the publisher's listed range, based on reading level and the real-life shark attack and recovery
Skip if you want a secular sports memoir or one that digs into family conflict and doubt.
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