The Breadwinner

Originally published in 2001, but sadly still relevant, The Breadwinner is the story of a young girl called Parvana growing up in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Her mother and older sister never go outside, as even covered from head to toe in a restrictive burqa and whilst accompanied by her father, it is still risky. Parvana is lucky, as she gets to accompany her father to the market where he earns a living reading and writing letters. But she misses going to school and seeing her friends since the Taliban decreed that girls could no longer attend. She even misses doing homework!

However, one day everything changes when Parvana’s father is arrested and taken away by the Taliban. No one knows where he is, why he has been taken or if they will ever see him again. All of a sudden, Parvana becomes the family breadwinner. But it’s too dangerous for Parvana to go out and about dressed as a girl so, overnight, she becomes a visiting male cousin called Kaseem. Dressed as a boy she needs to find ways to earn enough money to feed the family and keep a roof over their heads. But even for boys, life isn’t easy. Can she earn enough money to feed her family and will she ever see her father again?

A beautifully written book about life in Afghanistan. Not always an easy read, but a worthwhile one, especially for KS3. The first book in a series about Parvana, I’m looking forward to reading the next one.