During the opening chapters Parvana is being interrogated by a Major of the American army yet she refuses to say a single word. I think her silence unnerves the Major and frustrates him, but it also leads him to label her every reaction (or lack thereof) as undeniable proof that she is a terrorist who blew up her school. For him the “other” is foreign and strange and not to be trusted, and he uses words like “these people” to set himself apart from those who are native to Afghanistan and who, in his opinion, need to be civilized. What makes the writing of this book so interesting for readers is that the author writes from Parvana’s point of view, while at the same time including the dialogue of the Major and his Corporal, showing the disconnect between the two. For example, when Parvana still refuses to speak the Major suggests that “she isn’t smart enough to be afraid”, meanwhile Parvana has decided to recite multiplication tables in her head because she finds him annoying and wants to ignore him. The role of the foreign “other” and the disconnect in thinking would make a great discussion topic in the classroom, especially in a classroom with a high immigrant population, because the teacher could ask students to make real-life connections with the book. They could be asked “was there ever a time when you felt misunderstood? Have you ever had someone pass judgement on you based on the way you looked? Acted? Spoke?”. The teacher might also lead a discussion about what is fair or unfair about the way Parvana is being treated or ask students who are new to Canada to talk about their experiences living in a new country.
I think Deborah Ellis does a great job in establishing Parvana as a strong-willed, observant, and extremely street-smart young girl. At times I almost forgot that the girl whose thoughts I was reading was only 15 years old. Even without having read the previous books in the series it became obvious to me that this girl had really struggled in life and had been subjected to terrors that no child should ever have to experience; but it made her resilient. She has a sort of hardened, street-smart way of assessing the world around her. The beginning of the book describes Parvana as a prisoner who is being accused of blowing up a school, a very serious and potentially life-threatening accusation, but during the interrogations Parvana is actually seen laughing to herself at how ridiculous her captors are, such as the incident on page 30 when the translator translates “pussy-footing” (a word Parvana understands already in English) to “wearing the feet of a cat” in Dari.
Some of the Chapters have begun to shift back in time and I look forward to reading further to find out more about Paravana’s life and the events leading up to her capture!