She would read to him from his books - (Pg 159)

Parvana by Deborah Ellis, another story about women in Afghanistan. It is a Junior Fiction novel, and I read it in a couple of hours (mainly as I couldn't put it down).

It is the story of a young woman and her family in Afghanistan during the time of the Taliban. Her father is taken by the Taliban one day without warning and it falls on Parvana to dress as a boy so that she can go out and work and get food for her mother, sisters and baby brother.

Parvana's father is a history teacher, and through this, a simplified history and a greater understanding of this troubled country is presented clearly to the reader.

Ellis herself has written a number of inspirational stories about child refugees and is somewhat of an inspiration herself.

Parvana is a quick read which I highly recommend if you have read and enjoyed The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul and Kabul Beauty School.

280 Days Remaining, 19 Books to go

He wanted to be sure every word could be read - (Pg 36)

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez was, quite simply, a wonderful story.

Rodriguez is an amazing storyteller. With very few words she is able to paint a vivid picture of the people of Kabul, their surroundings, the time of year, everything.

This story is filled with fantastic and inspirational characters. It is a rather large cast, however I always knew who was who, never got lost and was genuinely interested in every single one of them.

It paints a very real picture of women in Afghanistan, and at the same time I think it spares the reader of the worst atrocities. Most of the women's stories are not told as they happen, but in past tense, which somehow makes it easier to take as you know that the women somehow survived.

This story gave me a strong desire to learn more about the situation in Afghanistan and to try and help in any way that I possibly can. See below for some links if you too are interested in helping out or learning more.

 280 Days Remaining, 21 Books to go

Australian Press Release
RAWA - International
SAWA - Australia