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11 year old Parvana is growing up in 1990s Kabul, Afghanistan when the country is under Taliban control.  Girls and women are not allowed to work, be educated, or even go outside without being completely covered from head to foot.  She and her family are dependent upon her father, but he is arrested and taken away for being too educated.  Parvana decides to cut her hair and pass for a boy in order to make money for the family.  Eventually, her mother escapes to Pakistan (to a town which later gets taken over by the Taliban, unfortunately), and Parvana insists on staying behind in hopes of her father’s release.  When her father is finally free, the two make their way to Pakistan hopeful for a family reunion.

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Sample Passage

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The Taliban, and groups like it, are still very much a threat to families like Parvana’s in real life — and a threat to the entire world.  This book allows for great discussion about middle eastern culture and the role women play in it, or don’t play.  The class can discuss things like women’s rights and equality, not to mention the refugee situation.  By seeing the world through Parvana’s eyes, students can better understand a foreign perspective and be empathetic toward the current global situation.

The book is beautifully written and really allows the reader to feel things that Parvana feels -- feelings they may have no prior experience with and ones that will broaden their cultural awareness. Secondly, the book is very realistic and should be applauded for not having a typically happy, feel-good ending. It allows readers to understand how harsh life can be, especially in the Middle East, and gives them a chance to compare and contrast their own situation with those people oppressed under Taliban control.

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This book is about Survival and Strength. Parvana is pushed into a corner and not only has to protect herself, she must protect her family. She does what she needs to do to survive an impossible situation and demonstrates unlikely determination, maturity, strength, and intelligence far beyond her years.