“It’s a perfect night to run away, thought Fadi…”
So begins the journey of Fadi and his family as they make
their desperate attempt to flee Afghanistan in Shooting Kabul. I had to keep reminding myself that
this was a middle grade fiction book as I read the first few chapters. The horrible and heart wrenching
decisions that Fadi’s family had to make as they ran for their lives made we
want to stop reading at times, but I reminded myself that for too many people
this story is uncomfortably close to the truth. In the midst of all this turmoil, Fadi’s six year old
sister, Miriam, is accidently left behind in Afghanistan as the family escapes
to Pakistan and later the United States.
While family and friends back in Pakistan and Afghanistan
search for Miriam, Fadi and his family try to settle into their new lives in San
Francisco. Fadi’s thoughts are
never far from Miriam, he blames himself for her being separated from the
family. His one goal: to return to
Afghanistan and find Miriam.
This book is hard to put down; the readers easily become
wrapped up in Fadi’s life as he tries to make friends, adjust to his new surroundings,
and find Miriam. Then it’s September
11, 2001, and Fadi’s world changes yet again.
As I read about the events of 9/11, many of the memories of
that day came flooding back. Who
will ever forget where they were and what they were doing when they first heard
the news of the planes hitting the towers? The memories are so powerful, even
so many years later. In the story,
Fadi’s family and community suddenly become targets as they struggle in the
aftermath of the attacks.
It always amazes me every year when I have students that
don’t know anything about 9/11. They
were only toddlers then. I will be
using this book as a read-aloud in the classroom to help spark some intelligent
discussions and promote a culture of acceptance and understanding for all.
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