Scan barcode
A review by sarahanne8382
Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai
4.0
12-year-old Fadi's family leaves Afghanistan in early 2001 as the Taliban's threats to his Western-educated father steadily increase. In the process of leaving, however, Fadi's little sister Miriam is left behind and the whole family struggles to appreciate their escape to America because they all feel responsible for leaving Mariam behind.
But that's not all that's going on in this book. There are the usual immigrant struggles to fit in, plus when 9/11 takes place we see the reaction of mainstream Afghani Muslims to the extreme actions of the terrorists their country had been hosting. Fadi deals with bullying and trying to fit in at an American middle school after being home-schooled for years. His father deals with finding a lesser-paying job when none of the colleges he is qualified to teach at have openings. His mother is sick and then battles depression as Miriam continues to be missing. His older sister has her own struggles with adjusting to a new country. There are so many things going on, and yet the book doesn't feel rushed or bursting at the seams. Some of the resolutions are a little too neat, but if that allows Senzai to tell such a layered story, I'm okay with it. My favorite thing, though had to be seeing the immediate reaction to 9/11 from a completely different perspective than I experienced it myself.
This is a great book for showing kids a different culture and yet Fadi's close-knit family and the everyday struggles of a middle schooler keep the book relatable.
But that's not all that's going on in this book. There are the usual immigrant struggles to fit in, plus when 9/11 takes place we see the reaction of mainstream Afghani Muslims to the extreme actions of the terrorists their country had been hosting. Fadi deals with bullying and trying to fit in at an American middle school after being home-schooled for years. His father deals with finding a lesser-paying job when none of the colleges he is qualified to teach at have openings. His mother is sick and then battles depression as Miriam continues to be missing. His older sister has her own struggles with adjusting to a new country. There are so many things going on, and yet the book doesn't feel rushed or bursting at the seams. Some of the resolutions are a little too neat, but if that allows Senzai to tell such a layered story, I'm okay with it. My favorite thing, though had to be seeing the immediate reaction to 9/11 from a completely different perspective than I experienced it myself.
This is a great book for showing kids a different culture and yet Fadi's close-knit family and the everyday struggles of a middle schooler keep the book relatable.