It’s a good novel, well written and interesting. Deborah Ellis has created an engaging, sympathetic protagonist in Parvana: she is smart and brave, but not preternaturally adult. Certainly she has had to grow up a lot faster than other children her age who don’t live in a war-torn country, but she is still clearly a child. The events in the book are realistically depicted and quite grim, but the book isn’t entirely devoid of hope. The first time I used it in a class, I did regret having timed it to come directly after the book we read about the Holocaust (Hana’s Suitcase, by Karen Levine), because it made the semester a little…relentless. However, I think Parvana’s Journey is a great teaching text. We researched the history and geography of Afghanistan, pre-and-post Taliban, and the changes that had occurred after the US declared war on the country after the September 11 bombings. That particular semester, the majority of my students were Aboriginal, and they were particularly interested in the parallels between the collectivist culture of pre-Taliban Afghan society and their own collectivist, family oriented culture. Recommended.

Parvana is now thirteen and she and her father have been wandering through Afghanistan searching for the rest of their family. But then Parvana's father dies and she is all alone, still in disguise as a boy and has no choice bu to continue the search alone. She doesn't really know where she should go, or even where she is going. But along the way she meets other children who are alone: baby Hassan, horrible Asif who is quite possibly the most annoying boy to ever live, and fearless little Leila. The four children become a family and must survive on their own. But with the war still raging and bombs falling everywhere, it's more difficult than Parvana could ever imagine.

The second in The Breadwinner series is almost as good as the first. Parvana has grown up a little and I especially like that she is not perfect--she gets frustrated easily and because of it her struggles are more realistic and believable.

I really liked this book. Just really liked it. Oh that ending! I just kind of wish Ellis had written one longer book rather than several shorter books, because neither the first book in this series, nor this book felt complete to me.

4/5*

সিরিজের বইগুলো এত সুন্দর কেন? এত কষ্ট কেন পারভানার জীবনে? আমরা এত অদ্ভুত কেন? মানুষের কষ্টের শেষ চাই আবার কষ্টের গল্প পড়ছি অথচ মনে হচ্ছে গল্পটা যেন শেষ না হয়! চলতেই থাকে, চলতেই থাকে।

A heart-wrenching read that all must read.

To read my full review, click here.

Desgarradora infancia empapada de guerra, hambre y esperanza. Literatura juvenil de calidad.