Parvana

Based on real-life events, Parvana is the compelling story of a young girl in Afghanistan who is determined to provide for herself and her family. This bestselling novel is recommended by Malala Yousafzai and continues to inspire young readers around the world.

Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment in war-torn Afghanistan during the Taliban era of the late 1990s.?When soldiers burst into her home and drag her father off to prison, it becomes Parvana's responsibility to be the breadwinner for her family.

But in a city where girls and women are denied an education and forbidden to leave the home without a male family member, Parvana needs to find a way to make a living in the marketplace of Kabul. Dressed as a boy, Parvana must gather all her courage and resilience and risk her life every day to make ends meet in the dangerous and volatile city.?

A powerful and riveting novel about loyalty, resistance, survival, family and friendship in the face of overwhelming fear and oppression.

About the Author

Deborah Ellis has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in developing countries. She has won the Governor General's Award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A long-time feminist and anti-war activist, she is best known for the Parvana series, which has been published around the world in twenty-nine languages, with more than two million dollars in royalties donated to organisations such as Women for Women in Afghanistan, UNICEF, and Street Kids International. In 2017, Parvana was adapted into an award-winning animated film called The Breadwinner. In 2006, Deb was named to the Order of Ontario and in 2016 she was named to the Order of Canada.