Parvana made her fictional debut in Deborah Ellis’s first novel, The Breadwinner, published in 2001. Readers got to know Parvana as a brave 11-year-old who disguised herself as a boy in order to earn food for her family. Two subsequent novels continued the stories of an Afghan community caught between the Taliban and Western coalition forces.
In , Parvana, now 15, is imprisoned by American soldiers who suspect that she is a terrorist. Before her arrest, she had been reunited with her mother and sisters and was living out her dream of teaching in a school for girls. The chapters alternate between her imprisonment and her life immediately prior to the arrest. Ellis does not shy away from giving readers a painful, yet hope-filled conclusion to this series. Ages 11 and up. (Groundwood)
About the Author
Jenny deGroot is a retired educator, farm-living art lover, and longtime contributor to The Banner's news and Mixed Media sections. She lives near Fort Langley, B.C., and attends Willoughby Christian Reformed Church in Langley, B.C.
