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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Great plot, but the description and dialogue could be much smoother.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read at the request of my 7th grader.
a little slow-going at times, but very touching at the end (if not a little unbelievably convenient)
Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai was my book club book for the multicultural week. Senzai's story is a fictionalized account of her husband's family's escape from Afghanistan following the Soviet Invasion. The fictionalized account takes place before and after the events of September 11, 2001. The narrator of her story is 11 year-old Fadi who is troubled throughout the story because he believes it is his fault that his six-year-old sister, Miriam gets left behind in Afghanistan while the family flees the troubled country and makes it to the United States. Fadi is fond of taking pictures and hopes to win the grand prize in a photo contest that could bring him to India with a hope of getting to Pakistan to save his sister.
While the book includes Pukhtun language with a glossary at the end, I do not feel like I got to know much about the Afghani and Pukhto culture. I enjoyed the opening chapters where the family is in Afghanistan hearing the news about the Taliban gaining more control and the description of their escape. There was some mention of their "old" life when they arrived in San Francisco, but there was no real urgency in the fact that a six-year-old was missing, and discussions of stereotyping people as "terrorists" could have been more developed.
The book would be appropriate for students in grades 5-7 who may have an interest in learning about other cultures. I think it would be interesting to take the concept of photography and culture and have students develop their own portrait of their culture.
While the book includes Pukhtun language with a glossary at the end, I do not feel like I got to know much about the Afghani and Pukhto culture. I enjoyed the opening chapters where the family is in Afghanistan hearing the news about the Taliban gaining more control and the description of their escape. There was some mention of their "old" life when they arrived in San Francisco, but there was no real urgency in the fact that a six-year-old was missing, and discussions of stereotyping people as "terrorists" could have been more developed.
The book would be appropriate for students in grades 5-7 who may have an interest in learning about other cultures. I think it would be interesting to take the concept of photography and culture and have students develop their own portrait of their culture.
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found the subject matter interesting, but the book kind of just ended. There's another 10 or so pages that could've been written at the end, but the author just made a two page epilogue and called it done.
Reads like a PSA at times. But I can see how it would be eye-opening for a 10-13-year-old.
The plot was great, but I hate the title, hated the flashbacks, and found it a bit hard to follow.