Zia’s Story
by Shahnaz Qayumi; illus. by Nahid Kazemi
Intermediate    Tradewind    96 pp.
6/24    9781990598128    $15.95
Paper ed.  9781990598142    $12.95

Set during the rise of the Taliban in 1990s Kabul, ­Afghanistan, this story begins when young Zia’s father is taken away by the police. A sequence of violent acts ensues: the homes of his friends across the street are flattened in an explosion; the Taliban establish draconian measures that limit freedom, such as closing schools for girls and forbidding women from working. Compact prose captures a child’s experience while conveying a deeper, more haunting truth: “Dark nights without lights, cold rooms without heat, and endless gunshots. Blood on the street didn’t shock us anymore.” After furtively selling their belongings to raise money, Zia and his mother flee to Pakistan and find refuge when a religious school offers to not only teach Zia for free but also pay his mother a stipend. He eventually realizes that at this Islamic madrassa, students are being trained to carry out suicide missions. Mother and son finally immigrate to Canada, leaving behind a father whose fate is still unknown. Charcoal illustrations start each chapter, further setting the mood, often counterbalancing the beauty of the landscape and the safety of family against an increasingly hostile political environment. This haunting, sparely narrated novella packs a powerful punch. A historical note is appended, adding further context.

From the ">September/October 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.