This is a great trilogy especially for tweens and younger teens. I could've used a bit more depth but it gives the reader an idea of the horrible, Catch-22 situation for girls and women in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime. Forbidden to leave their homes unless accompanied by a man, how can w...
Although this book is rather childish It opened my eyes on afghanistan. It made me want to go out there and help all those poor men, women and children.Even if this book doesn't seem like your style. READ IT! It's so quick and worth it. It'll open your eyes and just make you think a couple more s...
No Ordinary Day, by Deborah Ellis, was my favorite book of the 2nd Trimester. I liked because at the time I read it, I was in India, and I related to the setting of the book in many ways. It is set in Kolkata, North India, and even though I didn't go there, it reminded me of the Indian cities I d...
This final book of the acclaimed trilogy that includes The Breadwinner and Parvana’s Journey continues the story of Parvana's best friend. Fourteen-year-old Shauzia, has escaped the misery of her life in Kabul, only to end up in a refugee camp in Pakistan. She still dreams of seeing the ocean and...
According to a 2014 UN report, Afghanistan is the worst country in the world to be born a girl. The average life expectancy of a woman is 44 years. Given such harsh gender segregation, many families are bringing up their daughters as sons. They are known as bacha posh – the literal term trans...
eeing as I had already read the amazing creation that is "The Breadwinner" I got very excited when I finally began to read "Parvana's Journey" The themes of the story include : historical fiction, realistic fiction and the occasional touch of survival and friendship. Here once more we meet Parvan...
“I know it’s not much time,” Mother said when she announced the plans to the rest of the school during morning assembly, “but you are all well prepared already. Your teachers tell me you are working hard in your studies, and this will give you a chance to show off your talents and knowledge to th...
Aaron said. “You think?” asked Simcha. “The old lady with the knitting. She’s put down her wool and is looking over here. Now she is getting up out of her chair and heading for the door.” I got up on the windowsill to watch. ...
Mom confronted me at dinner that night. “How did this happen?” She slammed the newspaper down so hard she knocked over my glass of milk. I got up to get a cloth. “Leave it!” she shrieked. “Answer me!” “Her letter must have sl...
He jumped to his feet and found himself standing toe to toe with a glaring Rosalia. “Keep away from me,” she said. “I wasn’t bothering you.” “You were watching me sleep. I will throw you off the boat.” ...
In 1978 it was banned by the Communists, who wanted to set up their own youth organizations. It stayed banned during the civil war and the Taliban regime. In 2003 it was started up again with the help of international donors, and now it is sponsored by the ministry of education. Afghan Scouts per...
After a while, he had to move to the sofa to watch TV. He picked up the TV Guide, looking for something worth watching. He looked at the page listing all the movies, and he read the descriptions. A lot of the movies were about either blowing things up or kids becoming pop stars. Duncan felt a sen...
She quit when I came along. She calls it exotic dancing, which isn’t quite right. It is dancing, but exotic doesn’t mean dancing while you take your clothes off. Inuit dancing could be exotic, but that’s not what Mom did. She made good money at it, but it all sort of drained away. Before I was bo...
As long as she was asleep, everything was fine. She was dreaming of something good, something safe. If she could just hold onto it... But it was gone. She was awake. She opened her eyes and tried to guess how much time had passed. It was a game she played with herself. Three hours? Four hours? Sh...
I Generally, I liked being in Book Alley. There were dozens of bookstalls and thousands of books. There were old books in Sanskrit, new books in English, and textbooks in Hindi, German and French. All kinds of people came to buy and browse. I could wander from little group to little group, being ...
Three thousand dancers from more than one hundred nations all over the continent compete for prizes and honors. Held at a stadium called The Pit at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, the Gathering has been coming together for over thirty years. In addition to the dancing there is a musi...
Many states, for example, require students to pass exams on the state’s history before they can graduate. The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) helps to ease the transition of military kids in the US when they change schools, helping families finding their way through the red tape and lob...
Food, medicine and other goods were prevented from going into Iraq, and the country’s economy and its people suffered from being unable to engage in full trade with the rest of the world. Because water-treatment plants had been damaged during the First Gulf War, half the Iraqi population did not ...