The Breadwinner (The Breadwinner collection)

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I was serving with the UN in Kabul when my daughter was conceived, so I am very grateful to have this story as a prop to help my daughter understand why I was there, why it was important to be there, and what it was like. Shauzia says she’s leaving soon, too, and she suggests that she and Parvana should meet in Paris on the first day of spring, 20 years from now. A refugee in a land full of dangers, she must travel across Afghanistan to find her mother and sisters. Though Parvana’s family used to be well off, the constant bombing of Kabul over the last 20 years has made her family increasingly poorer. Later, Nooria tells Parvana that this is a great opportunity—her new in-laws will send her to university, and the Taliban doesn’t control Mazar-e-Sharif, where her future husband lives.

She believes that people have a responsibility to care for their families, even if it means sacrifices must be made. Another day, Parvana notices a scrap of embroidered wool on her blanket and realizes it came from the window above.

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. This moving book is an illuminating look into the distressing plight of women and girls under oppressive Taliban rule in Afghanistan and how the spirit of resistance can thrive.

She joins up with Shauzia, a former classmate who's also pretending to be a boy, and the two become fast friends.Parvana knew she had to fetch the water because there was nobody else in the family who could do it. I do warn that it has some graphic violence on the part of the Taliban, and the themes are mature and very sad.