Sparks Like Stars: A Novel

Written by Nadia Hashimi

Narrated by Mozhan Marnò

Sparks Like Stars has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063008311

Nadia Hashimi

Nadia Hashimi is a pediatrician turned international bestselling novelist and daughter of Afghan immigrants. She is the author of four books for adults: The Pearl that Broke Its Shell, A House Without Windows, When the Moon Is Low, and Sparks Like Stars, as well as the middle grade novels One Half from the East and The Sky at Our Feet. She lives with her family in the Washington, DC, suburbs. 

Reviews for Sparks Like Stars

[Joyce Harout · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing story. I lived every minute of it. The narrator wasn't the best, but she was ok.

[pkgcnx529p · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was such an engaging story it kept me wanting for more I definitely feel like checking out the other books as well. I really love Historical fiction like these as I feel I can always learn something without poring through mundane details of a text book.

[Erin Osadjan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

i loved this book so much. i became totally absorbed by the story and felt torn between needing to know what happens next, but not wanting the book to be over. i wish i could read this book again for the first time.

i’ve read some other reviews complaining about the narrator’s voice, but i think the dry, level speaking perfectly represents how Aryana would speak. the narrator’s voice seems to be reserved and powerful, exactly how a physician who’s gone through unimaginable trauma would sound.

[Maggie Tilley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this wonderful story via audio book. Narrator was very dry and boring, she sounded like she was uninterested in the job, almost like she was reading a boring textbook, not a novel filled with emotion.

[Ruth Rodarte · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent read. The author does a good job of bring you into the book and making you feel like you are there. Narrator also did a great job!

[Jeanne Acuña · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic story, poignant and moving. History that I’m only vaguely familiar with. Such beautiful writing!!!

[Kanishka Ariyathilaka · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars! Truth of many diminished nations! Good narrating! Thank you!

[Sandy Powell · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Just never got interning , only finished it because I thought surely this book is going to go somewhere, oh well?

[kayanelson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this book about a child who loses her family in the 1966 coup in Afghanistan. Ariana’s story of leaving Afghanistan and her journey to America and her healing is a very interesting and heartwarming story. As an adult she searches for the graves of her family. It’s a well written journey.

[srms.reads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved the story and the characterizations against the intense historical backdrop. An emotional journey of loss, survival and closure . Sitara, the protagonist , and her story stays with you long after you finish reading . Another gem from one my favorite authors , this novel does not disappoint. Definitely recommended reading.

Thank you Goodreads for the ARC!

[susan.h.schofield · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this book! It was beautifully written and so moving. Aryana, Tilly and Nia were such strong and well written female characters. I learned a lot about Afghanistan and it's history in the 1970s. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

[bettytaylor56 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As I finished the last paragraph of this book, I sighed. I did not want to leave Hashimi’s world. She has the expertise to juxtaposition the horrors of war alongside the gentleness of the Afghan people and leave the reader yearning to provide comfort to those beautiful people.

Sitara Zamani returns to Kabul after decades away. She is determined to find the bodies of her family who were killed in 1978 in a bloody coup. She believes she was the single survivor of that tragic night.

Sitara was smuggled from the palace that night and left at the home of a female American diplomat, who adopts her and raises her in America. Taking on a new name —Aryana Shepherd—she studies hard and eventually becomes a surgeon. She has buried her trauma and grief, refusing to deal with it. Until someone from her past becomes her patient. Now those feelings bubble to the surface, refusing to be pushed down. She knows she must return to Kabul.

An emotional read – I smiled at the childhood scenes of Sitara and her loving family; I felt 10-year-old Sitara’s terror as she quivered in her hiding place, hearing her family assassinated. While this is a story of heartbreak and tragedy, it is also a story of love. The relationship between Aryana and her adoptive mother is truly beautiful.

Perfect for book clubs. So many threads that can be discussed.

[penny_l-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My mind is reeling, full of thoughts on how can I possibly review a book of this epic scope and do it justice? The answer is I can't. But, I will try.
This masterpiece, based off true events of the 1978 coup in Afghanistan, centers around the daughter of an Afghan Presidential Advisor. At age 10, she witnesses the murder of her entire family during the attack on the Presidential Palace. This novel chronicles the life of that child - Sitara Zamani, her transition into becoming Aryana Shephard, and her search for closure.
Haunting, stunning and a truly incredible story. Nadia Hashimi's dual timeline storytelling is so brilliant, that had I not known otherwise, I would've thought this was an autobiography.
The writing flows beautifully - the history, the landscape, the emotional and physical journey - it all comes together in an extraordinary saga that spans decades and countries. I was so completely swept into this book that I read for hours, losing track of everything around me.
Heartbreaking, thought provoking and absolutely riveting, Sitara's story will linger long after you read the final page.
*Thank you William Morrow Marketing, Nadia Hashimi and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[ang709 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this story of survival and of coming to terms with the past. I found Sitara a sympathetic character both as a child and as a woman, and I was drawn in by both her physical journey and her emotional one. There were some strong supporting characters, the setting was vividly brought to life, and it was interesting to read and learn about places and events with which I'd been unfamiliar.

Thank you NetGalley and The Bookclub Girls for this early read.