Enduring Freedom

April 1, 2021
A dual-perspective narrative detailing the events of Operation Enduring Freedom through the eyes of an Afghan teen and a young American soldier. In the days leading up to 9/11, 16-year-old Baheer and his family lived in fear of the Taliban and their strict laws. Joe Killian, a high school senior and Iowa Army National Guard enlistee, is angered by the al-Qaida attacks and eager for revenge. So he is disappointed to learn that his unit is in fact tasked with the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, studious Baheer is optimistic as he approaches the U.S. soldiers in hopes of improving his English and bettering his country with these new allies. Their first encounter does not go well, but Baheer and Joe over time develop a friendship as they help each other learn and dismantle prejudices. Rather than attempting to be a sociopolitical history, this is an intensely personal story inspired by a real-life friendship: The authors, who met in the same way as the protagonists, blend their individual perspectives and ideologies into a cohesive narrative. Though there are some issues with pacing, the book overall does a solid job of showing the impact of their bond while acknowledging that others on both sides held differing views. The message of education as a vehicle for progress and dismantling hatred is one that will strike a chord with readers. A touching tale of understanding and friendship. (authors' notes) (Historical fiction. 13-18)

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April 26, 2021
This intensely personal wartime novel about the aftermath of 9/11 and Operation Enduring Freedom unfolds from two third-person perspectives. The narrative begins in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 10, 2001, as Afghan 16-year-old Baheer, whose large family values education, sells rugs, hides their radio from the Taliban, and learns that the Taliban have killed Ahmad Shah Massoud, “the last mujahedeen commander holding out against the Taliban.” The next day, the family tries to make sense of the burning towers from a smuggled VHS tape of CNN, eventually moving to the countryside to avoid the coming conflict. In Iowa on 9/11, patriotic white high school senior Joe Killian, who enlisted in the National Guard for tuition, is shattered by the violence, filled with vengeance toward al-Qaeda. Two years later, he’s summoned from the University of Iowa to Afghanistan. Initially, Joe resents his unit’s peace mission to Baheer’s town, and he and Baheer experience cultural stumbles and clashes, but soon a friendship grows. While narrative tension lags in parts, this thoughtful portrait of friendship and the human side of war, based on the authors’ true story, proves engrossing. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary.