Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis

REVIEWED BY MIA BRAYER

When Parvana starts her journey she doesn’t expect to go through some amazing challenges. While on her journey Parvana met some extraordinary people like Asif, Hassan and Leila who all have different challenges. “Parvana’s Journey” by Deborah Ellis is about Parvana, who is a shy, open-minded kind and caring thirteen year old girl. Asif is one-legged as the result of a bomb, and says that he only comes on the journey to annoy Parvana but really he is afraid to be left behind. Hassan is a baby who Parvana finds alone in a tent and Leila is a little girl Parvana befriends. Leila is kind, determined, and resourceful, although she has a lot to learn. The challenges that Parvana faces on her journey change her inside and out, she changes emotionally and by appearance. The story begins with Parvana and her dad trying to find their family. Parvana’s dad then becomes ill and passes away. After this very emotional bump in the road Parvana moves on with her journey and on the way finds Asif, Hassan and Leila who become like family to her and the children are prepared to go on this journey now not only to find Parvana’s family, but also to survive. If they stay in one place too long they will run out of food. On the journey they face a few challenges such as not enough food to eat, always being dirty, and losing close family and friends. For some of these challenges there is something that can be done to fix the problem but not all the time for example when friends and family die there’s not much someone can do about that.My interpretation of the message is like the quote “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” That’s exactly what Parvana did. Although she went through all these challenges, she didn’t give up; she persisted even though it was rough and she still had her head held high. The book was based on a real life story and it was really hard to imagine that people actually lived like that. It would have been so hard, especially because they are kids not adults. It also made me think about how bad life actually is in Afghanistan with the Taliban ruling. “Parvana’s journey” is a great title for the book. I think that the title really suits the book and it doesn’t give anything too big away about what’s going to happen. All you know is that a girl named Parvana from a non-western country goes on a journey and the book talks about her and the journey she goes on and what happens on the journey. It’s not like the first Parvana book that talks about the girl and her life in Kabul under the rule of the Taliban.Parvana’s Journey is an enjoyable book and the characters are incredible in the way that they deal with different challenges within themselves. The theme of the book made me think about that really meaningful message. The book was especially rich in detail. It’s like I was there with them, experiencing their journey and suffering. I really enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to those who like a really interesting and informative book.