September 27, 2010
This hard-hitting, emotionally nuanced first novel views the experiences of a family of Afghan refugees through the lens of 11-year-old Fadi. Fadi's U.S. educated parents repatriated to Afghanistan, only to have the Taliban impose order, ending his mother's career, necessitating homeschooling for the children, and creating a dangerous, oppressive environment. When his mother's health finally forces the family to leave, Senzai portrays the high cost of escape as not just economic ($20,000, "the family's entire savings") but human, through the shattering loss of Fadi's six-year-old sister, who hesitates to grab a precious Barbie and is left behind. "Fadi looked from the edge of truck's railing in disbelief. His six-year-old sister had been lost because of him." Senzai skillfully focuses Fadi's guilt against the backdrop of this grief and his adjustments to life in Fremont, California's Little Kabul (during 9/11); as Fadi discovers a photography club and contest that might earn him tickets to India, he fantasizes about rescuing his sister. Though cultural, religious, and political pressures persist, the satisfying surprise ending offers the family hope and redemption. Ages 8–12.