Tag: Afghanistan

Review: Dressmaker of Khair Khana

“To him it was his highest obligation and a duty of his faith to educate his children so that they could share their knowledge and serve their communities.” page 27

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.
Harper Perennial, Harper Collins, New York, 2012 (first published 2011).
Nonfiction, 270 pages including extras.
Lexile:  1090L  .
AR Level:  not leveled

The story of one young woman and her five sisters who stayed in Kabul and started a home dressmaking business under Taliban rule that not only provided for their family, but also allowed them to teach other women sewing and positioned them to be leaders in Afghanistan’s economy.

Dressmaker of Khair Khana
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.

I’d been traveling and was hoping to visit a specialty gift shop to pick up some diverse books, only to find it closed, so I found a nearby library.  The library wasn’t so diverse, but had extremely cheap books, so I purchased a bunch for under $1 total, including this one.

Continue reading “Review: Dressmaker of Khair Khana”

Review: Extra Credit

An interesting idea but a lackluster novel.

Extra Credit by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Mark Elliott.
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009.
Middle grade realistic fiction, 183 pages.
Lexile:  830L
AR Level:  5.3 (worth 5.0 points)

Abby is a smart sixth grader who could care less about homework but is obsessed with mountain climbing.  Sadeed is the top of his school in Afghanistan, living right next to real life mountains.  When Abby’s about to flunk 6th grade, she has an emergency project to complete – write to a pen pal in another country.  What starts off as a quick project turns into a real connection.

extra-credit-cover

The premise seemed to work okay, but as I often feel with two-person stories, one side was definitely lacking.  The chapters about Abby had a lot more realism and detail.  Sadeed’s chapters started off strong but while the premise was interesting, seemed to lack the specifics and connection that would have made me care about him.  Even when his village was undergoing a lot of problems, it just felt dramatic and not real.  The scenes with him and his sister were probably the best on his side.

Continue reading “Review: Extra Credit”