My Name Is Parvana (Breadwinner Series, 4) - Hardcover

Ellis, Deborah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1554982979 ISBN 13: 9781554982974

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2012

Synopsis

On a military base in post-Taliban Afghanistan, American authorities have just imprisoned a teenaged girl found in a bombed-out school. The army major thinks she may be a terrorist working with the Taliban. The girl does not respond to questions in any language and remains silent, even when she is threatened, harassed and mistreated over several days. The only clue to her identity is a tattered shoulder bag containing papers that refer to people named Shauzia, Nooria, Leila, Asif, Hassan — and Parvana.

In this long-awaited sequel to The Breadwinner Trilogy, Parvana is now fifteen years old. As she waits for foreign military forces to determine her fate, she remembers the past four years of her life. Reunited with her mother and sisters, she has been living in a village where her mother has finally managed to open a school for girls. But even though the Taliban has been driven from the government, the country is still at war, and many continue to view the education and freedom of girls and women with suspicion and fear.

As her family settles into the routine of running the school, Parvana, a bit to her surprise, finds herself restless and bored. She even thinks of running away. But when local men threaten the school and her family, she must draw on every ounce of bravery and resilience she possesses to survive the disaster that kills her mother, destroys the school, and puts her own life in jeopardy.

A riveting page-turner, Deborah Ellis’s new novel is at once harrowing, inspiring and thought-provoking. And, yes, in the end, Parvana is reunited with her childhood friend, Shauzia.

About this title

About the Author:

Deborah Ellis is the award-winning author of the international bestseller, The Breadwinner Trilogy. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 6-10-This sequel to the series is not merely an important book about the difficulty of girls' lives in war-torn, U.S.-occupied Afghanistan. It is also an example of vivid storytelling with a visceral sense of place, loss, distrust, and hope. Strong-willed Parvana, now 15, is inexplicably and stoically silent throughout her incarceration and none-too-gentle interrogation by U.S. troops. Alternate chapters take readers back through the past year during which Parvana and her family (and other beloved characters from previous books) defend their girls' school in a town hostile to the notion of female education. Although Ellis relies heavily upon readers' attachment to certain characters formed in earlier books, newcomers still get a strong sense of personality from Parvana's friends and family members. The Americans and minor Afghani figures are tossed about as caricatures, e.g., the overly suspicious commanding officer, the ignorant racist private, the volatile village men who throw rocks at girls whose head coverings have slipped. Why Parvana remains silent in U.S. custody will be difficult for many young readers to understand, but Ellis makes it easy to immerse oneself in this very foreign place, where hope thrives despite explosions and abused child brides and stonings. A must-buy title.-Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DCα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1554982979
• ISBN 13: 9781554982974
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176