This book wasn’t as powerful or as intense as I expected it to be. Still, I think, it’s a good introduction — it’s youth fiction — to the things that went on in Afghanistan under the Taliban. The story’s simple: the main character, Parvana, is living in Kabul with her family, under the Taliban. Her father is arrested and the family has no money or food. So, since she’s young enough, she disguises herself as a boy to earn the needed money. There are some intense moments, like the arrest, when I was very sad for the family, and there are several dispiriting stories throughout the book. But, in the end, in a way, hope prevails. I think the most upsetting thing is that the author, Deborah Ellis, wrote this after interviewing Afghan refugees in Pakistan. I guess you could consider this giving voice to the stories of the women and girls in Afghanistan.