I had not been able to read the first three books of this series so I was excited to see Shauzia and Mrs. Weera make their appearances at the end of the novel. Ellis did a really good job introducing these two characters in a way that explained enough about who they were without forcing the reader to go back and read the earlier books.
One critique I do have about this novel is that the ending felt rushed and sort of simple. I had read online that Deborah Ellis wrote this final book to sort of tie up loose ends left over from the other three books but I felt that some new plot points were just sort of introduced and then ignored. For instance, Parvana finally speaks to the American military when she tells them that they were the people who actually blew up her school. The chapter ends with that accusation and then it is never brought up again until the military is trying her for a crime the reader and the characters know she did not commit. I had to flip back twice to make sure I was not missing some clue as to how those two plot points were connected in a way that made sense but I couldn’t find one and I found that quite annoying. I also thought the sudden arrival of the van in the final chapter was a very quick and simple way of saving Parvana and ending the book. I did enjoy that Parvana decides to stay in Afghanistan to help other women but I just wished it had more concise final chapters that really could tie up loose ends.