Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples

"But just a month earlier the Twin Towers fell in New York, and Nusrat knew the world had changed, that no one was safe.  She began to worry about Faiz with every day that passed with no word from him.  When the American President announced the United States would bomb Afghanistan, Nusrat felt her heart begin to break into fragments.  And now she lives every day with dread."

Here is a story I would like all Arrupe students and families to read.  The author actually tells two stories in this novel and weaves them together seamlessly as they unfold.  Najmah is a young Afghan girl who finds herself alone after her mother and baby brother are killed by a bomb and her father and older brother are taken captive by the Taliban to fight in their rogue "army."  Najmah realizes the complexity of being a girl in this society, so she dresses and acts like a young boy and sets out for refugee camps in Pakistan.  The events that unfold on that journey are gripping and poignant.  Nusrat is the other main character; she is an American woman whose husband is a Pakistani doctor working in the north of Afghanistan.  Nusrat starts a school for young refugees from Afghanistan, mostly young girls, and it is through this work that she meets Najmah and their stories intertwine.

Atticus Finch says famously in To Kill a Mockingbird that we need to stand in another's shoes in order to understand his life.  This book allows us to stand in the shoes of a young Afghan girl and understand her life.  It is an important---indeed, essential---story to read and understand.  Staples does a great job at avoiding political commentary; rather, she lets the story speak for itself in letting the reader share the plight of these two women and see through their eyes what terror and, more importantly, what hope there is in the world.

Highly recommended for all students 12 and up.  I give the book a solid A, without hesitation. 

Here is an excellent website by the author with interesting articles, reviews, and information: http://www.suzannefisherstaples.com/

If you liked this book, you might also like: Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples; Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang.