Shooting Kabul

by N H Senzai (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
A powerful debut--this coming-of-age novel artfully captures one family's flight from Afghanistan and their new life in San Francisco.
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School Library Journal

Gr 5-8—In July 2001, as 11-year-old Fadi and his family hastily board a truck to begin their escape from Afghanistan, six-year-old Mariam lets go of her brother's hand and is tragically left behind. Their arrival in San Francisco is bittersweet as they are all too concerned about Mariam to appreciate their newfound safety and freedom. Fadi struggles with integrating himself into American middle school culture, eventually finding solace in the photography club. Still, he is most concerned with the part he played in losing Mariam and getting her back. A photography contest with the prize of a trip to India seems to be his best means of finding a way back to Afghanistan to help in the search for his sister. This is a sweet story of family unity, and readers will learn about Afghani Pukhtun culture. Occasionally Senzai relies too heavily on telling when showing would be more effective. Also, at times the dialogue seems inauthentic because it contains more historical detail than would be likely among people of the same background. The relevance of occasional references to E. L. Konigsburg's "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" (S & S, 1970), which Fadi is reading, is never truly clear. That said, this is a worthwhile book about the immigrant experience in general, and Afghani culture specifically. Fadi is a likable hero who learns from his mistakes, and whose talent allows him to make a unique contribution to finding his sister, for the inevitable happy ending. - Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission

Publishers Weekly

This hard-hitting, emotionally nuanced first novel views the experiences of a family of Afghan refugees through the lens of 11-year-old Fadi. Fadi's U.S. educated parents repatriated to Afghanistan, only to have the Taliban impose order, ending his mother's career, necessitating homeschooling for the children, and creating a dangerous, oppressive environment. When his mother's health finally forces the family to leave, Senzai portrays the high cost of escape as not just economic (,000, "the family's entire savings") but human, through the shattering loss of Fadi's six-year-old sister, who hesitates to grab a precious Barbie and is left behind. "Fadi looked from the edge of truck's railing in disbelief. His six-year-old sister had been lost because of him." Senzai skillfully focuses Fadi's guilt against the backdrop of this grief and his adjustments to life in Fremont, California's Little Kabul (during 9/11); as Fadi discovers a photography club and contest that might earn him tickets to India, he fantasizes about rescuing his sister. Though cultural, religious, and political pressures persist, the satisfying surprise ending offers the family hope and redemption. Ages 8-12. (June)

Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission

Review quotes

In N.H. Senzai's debut novel, worlds collide and a little sister is lost. Can her big brother find her from half a world away? At the same time, how can he find himself and restore his honor in a land that is both foreign and home? Turn the pages. Find out. —Kathi Appelt, author of The Underneath, a 2009 Newbery Honor book
N H Senzai
N.H. Senzai is the author of Shooting Kabul, which was critically acclaimed and on numerous award lists. Publishers Weekly called it "hard hitting, emotionally wrenching." Her second book, Saving Kabul Corner, was nominated for an Edgar Award. She is also the author of Ticket to India and Escape from Aleppo. Ms. Senzai lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Visit her online at NHSenzai.com.

Shannon Hitchcock is the author of One True Way which received a starred review from Kirkus Review. The critically acclaimed Ruby Lee & Me was a nominee for the 2017-2018 Nebraska Chapter Book Golden Sower Award, Pennsylvania's Keystone Award, Iowa's Children's Choice Award, Japan's Sakura Medal, and Alaska and Montana's Battle of the Books. She divides her time between Tampa, Florida, and Hendersonville, North Carolina. For more, visit her website at shannonhitchcock.com.


Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of nearly 50 books for young readers, among them The Red Pencil and A Poem for Peter, as well as several collaborations with her husband, Brian Pinkney, including Martin Rising: Requiem for a King, Sit-In, and Hand in Hand, which received the Coretta Scott King Book Award. Andrea Davis Pinkney lives in New York City. You can follow her on Twitter at @AndreaDavisPink, on Instagram at @Andreapinkney1, and on Facebook at @andreadavispinkey.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781442401952
Lexile Measure
800
Guided Reading Level
V
Publisher
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date
July 12, 2011
Series
Paula Wiseman Books
BISAC categories
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV011020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Asian American
JUV030020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Asia
Library of Congress categories
Refugees
California
Emigration and immigration
San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.)
Afghan Americans
San Francisco Bay Area
Middle East Book Awards
Winner 2010 - 2010
South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award
Nominee 2012 - 2013
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award
Nominee 2013 - 2013
Massachusetts Children's Book Award
Nominee 2012 - 2013

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