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    Shooting Kabul
    Shooting Kabul
    Shooting Kabul
    Ebook208 pages3 hours

    Shooting Kabul

    By N. H. Senzai

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Fadi never imagined he’d start middle school in Fremont, California, thousands of miles from home in Kabul—and half a world away from his missing six-year-old sister, Mariam.

    Adjusting to life in the United States isn’t easy for Fadi’s family, and as the events of September 11 unfold, the prospects of locating Mariam in war-torn Afghanistan seem slim. When a photography competition with a grand prize of a trip to India is announced, Fadi sees his chance to return to Afghanistan and find his sister. But can one photo really bring Mariam home?

    Based in part on Ms. Senzai’s husband’s own experience fleeing Soviet-controlled Afghanistan in 1979, Shooting Kabul is a powerful story of hope, love, and perseverance.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
    Release dateJun 22, 2010
    ISBN9781442401969
    Author

    N. H. Senzai

    N. H. Senzai is the author of the acclaimed Shooting Kabul, which was on numerous state award lists and an NPR Backseat Book Club Pick. Its companion, Saving Kabul Corner, was nominated for an Edgar Award. While her first two books are based in part on husband’s experience fleeing Soviet-controlled Afghanistan in the 1970s, her third, Ticket to India is based on her own family’s history. She is also the author of Escape from Aleppo. Ms. Senzai lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit her online at NHSenzai.com.

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    Reviews for Shooting Kabul

    4/5

    92 ratings19 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A very good read, with a nuanced view of the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan. A young boy escapes Afghanistan with his family, but his six year old sister is left behind. He must deal with that, with middle school bullies, and with the backlash against Muslims caused by the events of 9/11. Ends a little abruptly.
    • 5/5
      This story is of a immigrant family from Afghanistan and the perils they endure when father is pressured by war. Family leaves for America so Dad could attend University and return to his homeland to help the country, only to have Al-Qaeda pressure him to help. The family then escapes out of the country during the night only have family member left behind. The family adjusts to new life in S.F. post 9/11, and this is when things turn interesting. Racial profiling, poverty, identity, culture, education system, exploration and bullying. Good story and coming of age for many people.( power struggles with self, society, family, identity.)
    • 4/5
      I think 9-to-12s would really like this story, although it wasn't the best young adult novel I'd ever read. For the criticisms:1. I think the ending would have been much more effective without the epilogue, which just seemed anticlimatic to me.2. Fadi should have been showing a lot more culture shock -- for a kid raised in Afghanistan moving to San Francisco, he acts with remarkable aplomb. Even making allowances for his Western-influenced family, I found it unbelievable. The same applies to the rest of his family as well. The pros:1. The photograph contest was done very well. The author was able to slip in quite a lot about photography without sounding overly didactic.2. Fadi's relationships with his family members, especially his father, were portrayed very realistically. I ached for him as he blamed himself over and over for his sister's disappearance.3. The suspense, are they going to find Mariam or not, was handled well, with false leads and red herrings and so on.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book! I think it can be a useful tool to teach about Muslim culture and also to show they kinds of things that other people are living through in other countries.
    • 5/5
      Shooting Kabul can be used to help students build tolerance towards people from the middle east. While it opens a window for students into a world they may know little about, or do not understand, it also teaches students about the immorality of racism. To help build great understanding and tolerance of Muslim people, Shooting Kabul is an excellent book.
    • 4/5
      In my opinion this is a must read for every American. The story helps shed light on a much misunderstood and much demonized religion and culture- Islam. The story truly relates that we are all the same no matter where you come from and no matter which religion you adhere to. I cannot wait to read this to my students. There is so much false beliefs about the Islamic people that this story clears up. I truly believe this one story can build bridges.
    • 3/5
      Shooting Kabul is an amazing, inspirational story about what matters most: hope, love, and family. It was extraordinarily encouraging and inspiring! Most everyone has heard the story of tragedy of September 11th. But not many people have heard it from the perspective of someone who was Muslim-American at the time. Yet, that's exactly what N.H. Senzai's spectacular debut novel Shooting Kabul does.

      The characters in this book are amazing and really well done! I could "feel" for each one of them, and they were each so unique and realistic. I enjoyed witnessing the emotional growth in Fadi throughout the story. And I simply adored Mariam...she's like the long-lost sister every brother wants!

      I loved the plot of the story. It was amazingly creative! However, I felt the pacing of the story felt a little slow at some points in the story. However, overall, the rest of the story felt, to be honest, average.

      All in all, I sincerely enjoyed Shooting Kabul. It was inspirational and uplifting. The ending was "oh-so-sweet," yet it was still realistic. I'd recommend this story to anyone looking for a great, yet emotional, novel. I can't wait to read whatever else Ms. Senzai has written - she truly is a gifted author and I'm expecting a lot of great books from her in the future!
    • 5/5
      5Q, 4P The story is about a family fleeing Kabul as the Taliban emerges. During the nightfall escape, young Fadi becomes separated from his young sister, Mariam and the family leaves the country without her. Fazi is wrecked with guilt as are the rest of the family members, each taking accountability for losing Mariam. In the quest to find her, Fadi must acclimate to school, a diverse class of students, a highly educated father subject to driving a taxi and existing in California post 9/11. He is a kind-hearted boy who maintains high values of family, educating the reader on Afghan traditions. Fadi's story is about fitting in and finding a means to locate Mariam. The book can be read by all ages, teaching each of us something special about the culture plus sibling respect and love. Fadi decides photography is his passion and means to express himself and help his family. He demonstrates Identity and Independence developmental task by striving to be self sufficient and deliver the gift of Mariam, youngest child to his parents. The timely perspective on Kabul and an Afghan community in California is important from a young boy's perspective; a boy who left his homeland, while still living among the culture thousands of miles from home. How to rationalize who Fadi is and where he belongs is a key element of his identity.
    • 4/5
      Appealing story about Afghan refugees who escape the oppression of the Taliban shortly before the September 11th attacks.
    • 1/5
      Horrible
    • 5/5
      This story is very authentic, with the emotions and turmoil of the characters being shared on every page. I wanted so badly for the young boy to speak up and share his guilt. This book was written about a time when all individuals of Middle Eastern decent were looked upon as terrorist. The book depicted the quick judgments of the masses and their assumptions that all Middle Eastern people were Muslims and therefore terrorist. When I read the part about Fadi going to school and hearing about the planes crashing into the pentagon, I recalled the exact images, feelings, and moments of that day as I remembered them. It is a difficult experience to put into words, but I could recall the awe and shock that everyone was in. I could only imagine what it would be like for a child to be hearing about this, but the author was able to convey some feelings and emotions through her words. She painted a picture in a way that made me want to know more about what Fadi had experienced. It made me want to know more about what his family saw in the days following 9-11. It made me want to know if they became very doubtful that they would ever find their daughter again. I had actually forgotten about Miriam shortly after the discussion of 9-11 and it wasn’t until Fadi was looking at photos and saw the hot pink burka that I remembered her. I had already lost hope that she would be reunited with her family. It almost seemed impossible that they would really ever find her again. This story compels one to understand that the Middle East is made up of a variety of cultures. It told the reader to not lump all Middle Eastern cultures into one category. The author painted a realistic experience for young readers by adding typical teenage experiences of bullying and family life and the unique experiences of being Pukhtun, an immigrant, and having a missing sister for the main character, while also describing and educating the reader on the culture. These experiences educate the reader and invoke positive impressions of a culture that is under-represented in children’s literature.
    • 4/5
      This book is a Rebecca Caudill nominee for 2013. The main character is Fadi, a young boy whose family flees Afghanistan to make a better life in the United States. Unfortunately, Fadi's little sister is accidentally left behind. The plot follows Fadi as he faces bullies at his new school and tries to win a photography contest. After the events of 9/11 occur, Fadi faces even more bullying and must try to protect himself. Throughout the story, Fadi and his family struggle with the guilt of leaving his little sister behind.I found this book to be a quick read, and it was very interesting. I really wanted to know what happened to Fadi and his family, so I didn't want to stop reading it. The book had some words in Fadi's native language, but there is a glossary in the back that defines the words. Will Fadi's sister be found? Will he win the photography contest? How will he handle the bullies who threaten him? Read the book to find out!
    • 3/5
      When Fadi and his family are able to leave war-torn Afghanistan, they plan for weeks and then the escape is executed in the blink of an eye. As they quickly leave, Fadi's little sister Miriam does not make it on the transport across the border. They cannot turn back, they cannot find her. As they settle into their new life in America, Fadi is overwhelmed by guilt of losing his little sister. In his photography class, the teacher announces a contest that will award the winner with a trip to Pakistan - which is right next to Afghanistan and the perfect opportunity to go back and right the wrong he feels has has done unto his family. The title of this book is misleading - it sounds as if the book will be about violence in Kabul or the aftermath of the violence of war. Instead it is a heartfelt book of cultural shock mixed with love of family - I enjoyed the book, but had a more difficult time getting into the book than others of the same theme.
    • 5/5
      This very interesting book about a family who escapes Afghanistan before the Taliban strengthen their stronghold on the nation. While running for the border Fadi loses grib on his younger sister's hand and she is left behind during the chaos. The rest of the family contiunues onto America and are using all their contacts to try and track down young Miriam. Fadi struggles with being a new, foreign student in school while dealing with the guilt of losing his sister, to top it off, the Taliban has bombed the World Trade Center and he is even more of a target than ever. He needs to find a way to get back to Miriam and the only way seems to be through a photo competition.
    • 3/5
      Fadi and his family leave Afghanistan after his dad is being pressured by the Taliban to help them. Unfortunately, as they try to leave, the youngest in the family, Mariam, is left behind. All feel partly responsible for this, but Fadi feels most guilty. He hears about a photography contest which he tries to win as a way to get a trip to India which he feels will help him search for his sister. The book attempts to do a lot of teaching, at times it felt a bit didactic to me. The was a bit about the history of Afghanistan incorporated within the story, photo composition, and the Taliban. These parts slowed the narrative a bit. However, I enjoyed the book. I really liked Fadi and found the characters in his family interesting and likable. The story of Fadi adjusting to life in America as his family is trying to find and reunite with Mariam all the while.
    • 4/5
      11-year-old Fadi's father earned a doctoral degree in agriculture from a Wisconsin university, and returned with his family to help the war-torn nation of Afghanistan recover after the Taliban took over. The Taliban government, at first open to scholars like Habib, became more and more repressive and restrictive. In the summer of 2001, Fadi and his family pay smugglers to make a desperate midnight escape from Afghanistan into Pakistan. In the chaos of trying to get everyone on the truck in the crowd, with the Taliban fighters closing in, Fadi's 6-year-old sister Mariam lets go of his hand and is left behind. The family searches as long as it can before the travel visas expire, and they sadly continue on to San Francisco without Mariam, though relatives continue to search for her in Afghanistan. Family is everything in their Pukhtun culture, which makes Miriam's absence that much worse. Fadi experiences 9/11 just after school starts, and he is the target of anti-Muslim bullying. Others are as well, and there is a subplot involving realistic events, choices and consequences. Fadi finds a kind ally in his art teacher, who encourages him to join the photography club. There he finds friends and a contest where the grand prize is a trip to India... close to Pakistan. If he could win it, he and his father could search for Mariam! Fadi's Afghani culture is something to experience, with food, customs, traditions, visits to the mosque and the message of peace from the imam's sermons and readings from the Qur'an. The ending may be a little too set-up for some, but I liked the way it wrapped all of the parts of the story together. This is a wonderful walk in someone else's shoes, and one that I hope you all pick up. 6th grade and up.
    • 3/5
      THis book came highly recommended, but in the end I found it too simplistic and didactic. An enjoyable story nevertheless.
    • 4/5
      Okay, get your box of tissues ready. From the minute I opened this book I could not put it down. The opening situation was such I had to read to find out how it ended. Usually I will skip to the ending then go back and fill in the details. This one I read straight through. I could not imagine what this family went through trying to escape the Taliban. My heart broke for Fadi when he realized he had messed up and lost the one thing he was responsible for, his six year old sister Mariam, how scared she must have been. As a mother if it had been me leaving my child behind I would have been inconsolable. Fadi and his family are trying to figure out how to return to find her when September 11 happens. Now Fadi faces extreme prejudice at school. He joins the photography club and learns of a contest that might take him to India if he wins. After all, he reasons, India is close enough to Afghanistan that he could have a better chance of finding his sister. This is a must read and I have the perfect student picked out to read it first.
    • 4/5
      After the Taliban pressures his father to join them, Fadi and his family must flee Afghanistan. They sell all their belongings and use their life savings to secure passage to Pakistan. On the night that they board the truck, something terrible happens. People are scrambling to board the truck, desperate to escape the country. Fadi's six-year-old sister Mariam drops her doll and, in turning back to look for it, lets go of Fadi's hand. The truck takes off, trying to outrun the Taliban members who have appeared on the scene. And Mariam is left behind in Afghanistan as Fadi and the rest of his family make their way to America. Will they ever see her again? Shooting Kabul is a moving portrait of one family's escape from Afghanistan and their struggle to adapt to life in America, especially post-9/11. It'll make the issues in Afghanistan clearer to kids who might have a muddy picture of what's happened "over there" during the last decade. The plot lagged in a few places, but the book is successful overall and I'll definitely be looking for more from this debut author.

    Book preview

    Shooting Kabul - N. H. Senzai

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