Book cover of The Breadwinner

Book description

Afghanistan: Parvana's father is arrested and taken away by Taliban soldiers. Under Taliban law, women and girls are not allowed to leave the house on their own.

Parvana, her mother, and sisters are prisoners in their own home. With no man to go out to buy food, they face starvation.

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Breadwinner as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

From our comfortable perch in North America, it’s almost impossible to imagine how children—girls, especially—survive in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The Breadwinner made it real to me, with all the oppression that the main character, eleven-year-old Parvana, experiences and all the courage she demonstrates. This book showed me the common humanity we share with people whose lives are so different from our own. And it forced me to ask myself: Could I have been as brave and resourceful as Parvana?

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