This story opens as eleven year old Fadi is staring out a cab backseat window one starry night.  Fadi, his parents and two sisters are fleeing from Kabul, Afghanistan,  heading to Jalalabad in the eastern part of the country.  Fadi’s father has given him a charge to watch over his six year old sister, Mariam. The taxi leaves the family at an abandoned site where they will be collected and taken the final part of their journey into Pakistan. When the truck arrives, other refugees hiding at the site rush to board.  Fadi refuses to put his sister’s Barbie doll in his jacket and in the confusion she slips out of his hand. She is swept into the crowd and, when they arrive, Mariam is not with them. She has been left behind.

After trying valiantly to locate the child, the family continues on its flight to America where they will seek asylum. Fadi is stricken with guilt over his minor role in the sister’s disappearance.

His father with a PHD in agriculture lands a job driving taxi; the older sister, Noor, starts working at MacDonalds and Fadi starts middle school in Freemont California. His mother is not well over worry about Mariam. As one might imagine Fadi faces multiple problems adjusting to school.  Conflicts arise and get resolved in a variety of ways

The particular importance of this book to me was in the blending of the coming of age of Fadi and the history of Afghanistan. At no time does the author ever interrupt the narrative to give the reader a history lesson. Instead history is brought out naturally as the characters talk, react to each other, and generally go about their daily living. Concerns over Osama, the Taliban , President Karzai  all surface especially after the terror attack in New York and Washington. Now the concerns over their Muslim faith  surfaces and must be confronted.

The story is captivating and will hold any readers’ interest. A Glossary of terms and suggested other writings are included at the end of the book. One writing in particular I know is very helpful in explaining the Taliban’s effect on the country.  Ellis, Deborah  PARVANA’S JOURNEY , Groundwood Books, 2004.   Appropriate for any reader grade 5 and up.

The nuns run the facility with iron gloves and offer little sympathy to the girls. To earn money for upkeep the nuns put the girls to work doing various jobs. At one point they crochet black berets to wear and sell; other times they are taken into the city of MIlan to sing at funerals and wakes. The two friends are constantly thinking of the parent(s) who have left them there.

They know Pina’s mother was sent a telegram but never responded. The girls get the address of the telegram and head into the city to approach Pina’s mother. Shortly thereafter Susanna’s US Navy father makes contact and arranges a visit at the Instituto.

Things seem to be looking up for the girls.  But in an attempt to emulate a saint suffering the stigmata and bring more suffering into her life, Susanna falls very ill. Her father’s reappearance after all these years aids greatly in her recovery. Pina however meets a different kind of reception.

By the end of a very quick moving story both girls are in  much improved positions with  more positive futures.

This author has written so many distinguished books for young readers independently and has co-authored a significant  number also.

Meli’s family are Albanian living in Serbia.  This alone causes conflict.  Meli’s family is forced to flee from their home to seek sanctuary elsewhere. They load the family farm truck with provisions but before they can leave the soldiers come and confiscate the truck  and its contents. Now the extended family, including an aged grandmother, set out to walk to the border. The survival of the family is amazing as they cobble together shelter and food along the way.

The family finally make their way to a Displaced Persons encampment in Macedonia, ultimately going to Barre  Vermont where they now reside.

Bill starts the journey looking at the cosmos goes to the size of the earth, to  our dangerous planet ending on the road to us.  The trip is arranged and studded with fact after fact  building to a picture of us today. Each chapter, and even each  smaller  piece,  contains information the reader needs to develop a complete understanding of us and our world.

I opened the book probably halfway and almost two hours later found myself at its  end. I was totally taken on  a memorable educational journey. I am not usually a non-fiction devotee, but Mr Bryson has a gift for language any adult will enjoy.  His A WALK IN THE WOODS,  and the companion radio shows,  about travel on the Appalachian Trail are treasured memories for this adult reader.

Copies of this book should be in every classroom library for students to simply pore over at their leisure. You might even consider chaining to the bookshelf to discourage it walking away. A definite MUST! This newly illustrated, abridged and adapted edition was originally published in Great Britain in 2003.

Ms Burton unfolds her story as a drama in Five Acts. Each act builds on the information presented in the prior Acts thus making the learning come in bite-size pieces more easily understood.

The information must be accurate,  or I do not believe this volume would have survived all these years. I know I found reading it interesting and informative.  I can see the young non-fiction fan getting lost in the various Act and Ages.