New ebooks From Canadian Indies

9781554982974_cover Enlarge Cover
0 of 5
0 ratings
rated!
rated!
list price: $16.95
edition:Hardcover
also available: eBook Paperback
category: Children's Fiction
published: Sep 2012
ISBN:9781554982974
publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd

My Name Is Parvana

by Deborah Ellis

tagged: middle east, girls & women, violence
Description

Shortlisted for the IODE Violet Downey Book Award and the Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award, selected for the USBBY Outstanding International Book List, the CCBC Choices List, the Bank Street College of Education's Book of the Month, the Bankstreet College Best Children’s Books of the Year 2013, and the Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens List

On a military base in post-Taliban Afghanistan, American authorities have just imprisoned a teenaged girl found in a bombed-out school. The army major thinks she may be a terrorist working with the Taliban. The girl does not respond to questions in any language and remains silent, even when she is threatened, harassed and mistreated over several days. The only clue to her identity is a tattered shoulder bag containing papers that refer to people named Shauzia, Nooria, Leila, Asif, Hassan -- and Parvana.

In this long-awaited sequel to The Breadwinner Trilogy, Parvana is now fifteen years old. As she waits for foreign military forces to determine her fate, she remembers the past four years of her life. Reunited with her mother and sisters, she has been living in a village where her mother has finally managed to open a school for girls. But even though the Taliban has been driven from the government, the country is still at war, and many continue to view the education and freedom of girls and women with suspicion and fear.

As her family settles into the routine of running the school, Parvana, a bit to her surprise, finds herself restless and bored. She even thinks of running away. But when local men threaten the school and her family, she must draw on every ounce of bravery and resilience she possesses to survive the disaster that kills her mother, destroys the school, and puts her own life in jeopardy.

A riveting page-turner, Deborah Ellis's new novel is at once harrowing, inspiring and thought-provoking. And, yes, in the end, Parvana is reunited with her childhood friend, Shauzia.

About the Author

Deborah Ellis

DEBORAH ELLIS is the author of The Breadwinner, which has been published in thirty languages. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Deborah has donated more than $2 million in royalties to organizations such as Right to Learn Afghanistan, Mental Health Without Borders and the UNHCR. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

Contributor Notes

DEBORAH ELLIS is the author of more than two dozen books, including The Breadwinner, which has been published in twenty-five languages and was recently adapted into a feature-length animated film and a graphic novel. She has won the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She has received the Ontario Library Association’s President’s Award for Exceptional Achievement, and she has been named to the Order of Canada. She has donated almost $2 million in royalties to organizations such as Women for Women in Afghanistan, UNICEF and Street Kids International.

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
Age:
10 to 14
Grade:
5 to 9
Reading age:
0
Awards
  • Short-listed, OLA Golden Oak Award
  • Short-listed, OLA Red Maple Award
  • Short-listed, Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award
  • Short-listed, Rocky Mountain Book Award
  • Commended, CCBC Choices
  • Commended, Capitol Choices Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens List
  • Short-listed, IODE Violet Downey Book Award
  • Commended, USBBY Outstanding International Book List
  • Commended, Bank Street College of Education's Book of the Month
  • Commended, The Bankstreet College of Education's Best Books of the Year 2013
  • Commended, An Indie Next List Selection
Editorial Reviews

This sequel to the series is not merely an important book about the difficulty of girls' lives in war-torn, U.S.-occupied Afghanistan. It is also an example of vivid storytelling with a visceral sense of place, loss, distrust, and hope.

— School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

This passionate volume stands on its own, though readers new to the series and to Ellis' overall body of work will want to read every one of her fine, important novels. Readers will learn much about the war in Afghanistan even as they cheer on this feisty protagonist.

— Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

Ellis succeeds in putting a human face on the headlines and the brutality of the Afghan war, while answering many questions about the fate of a heroine whose personality and force of will shine through.

— Publishers Weekly

My Name is Parvana is perhaps the most subtle and accomplished of the four Breadwinner volumes.

— Maclean's

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Buy the e-book:

X
Contacting facebook
Please wait...