The Secret Sky

Starred review from June 30, 2014
Three characters take turns narrating foreign correspondent Abawi’s debut, about a cross-cultural love affair that tears at a small Afghan community. Pashtun landowners and Hazara farmers maintain a respectful peace—their children play together, but a “Hazara girl could never marry a Pashtun boy.” Fatima dreams of a future in Kabul, where girls “can become doctors, lawyers, midwives and even artists!” After Samiullah returns home, disillusioned with teachers’ cruel indoctrination at his madrassa, his childhood friendship with Fatima blossoms into love. Meanwhile, Samiullah’s cousin Rashid seeks to gain favor with the local Taliban by reporting their attachment, resulting in horrific consequences for both families. Decades of tribal strife influence the present, causing some to cling to tradition, while others encourage change, like a grandmother teaching her granddaughter to read. Disturbing depictions of physical, emotional, and sexual violence against women, men, and children, both within families and between different groups, contrast with extravagant acts of courage, kindness, and sacrifice. Throughout, Fatima, Samiullah, and Rashid wrestle with what constitutes faithful living, as represented by two mullahs offering wildly different interpretations. A suspenseful, enlightening, and hopeful love story. Ages 14–up.

August 1, 2014
At its heart, this gripping debut by an Afghan-American journalist is a simple love story, but in today's Afghanistan-riven by culture clashes, scarred by decades of war-nothing is simple. Fatima's tiny village is isolated from city amenities but not from war. Its Pashtun and Hazara families have endured heartbreaking losses and, amid crushing poverty, hold tight to what remains. The elderly woman teaching her to read recalls freer times, but Fatima, who's Hazara and barely past puberty, faces a drastically limited future-her mother wants her married. When Fatima's childhood Pashtun friend, Samiullah, returns from his madrassa, their mutual attraction grows. But even chaste meetings violate strict cultural edicts; transgressions can have lethal consequences. Their discovery by Sami's cousin Rashid, embittered by jealousy and family tragedy, sets in motion events that change their lives, and those of their families and village, forever. All characters are Afghans, political attributions vague or neutral (the Taliban's criticized but not vilified). Abawi reserves condemnation for the violent, twisted opportunists who take advantage of chaos. Juxtaposed with horrific events, the tone and stylistic conventions of lighter teen fare occasionally feel jarring. First-person, present-tense narration confines the story to the here and now, yet that immediacy brings closer this ancient, complicated country bound to ours. Riveting plot, sympathetic characters and straightforward narration studded with vivid, authentic detail: a top choice. (author's note, glossary) (Fiction. 12 & up)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Fatima and Samiullah have known each other their whole lives, growing up together in a rural village in Afghanistan. She is a Hazara girl, he a Pashtun boy; they should not be considered equal, but their village is relatively open-minded. Sami has recently returned from a stint at the madrassa, an Islamic religious school. Now a teen, it is no longer permissible for Fatima to spend time alone with any men outside of her family. However, she and Sami cannot deny their mutual attraction and begin spending time together in secret, risking their lives in doing so. Rashid, Sami's cousin, discovers their secret and threatens to reveal all. This is an important story; it gives sensitive insight to a culture that many Americans do not understand beyond what they read in headlines. It also does not shy away from the horrors of a deeply divided, war-torn country: boys are raped, murder is widespread, and parents mutilate their own daughters. The author's introduction, note, and glossary give helpful, enriching background. That said, it is difficult to get past the marginal writing. Cliches abound-water sparkles like diamonds, hearts race and skip a beat regularly, lips are consistently described as "perfect" or "heart-shaped"-and there is more telling than showing. Rashid's chapters are a weak spot. Meandering prose about pomegranate trees disrupt the story's flow and pacing. The author has an authoritative voice about Afghan culture, and so many readers could benefit from a well-written, gripping story about that country's nuances and challenges; regrettably, this is not it.-Laura Lutz, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Afghanistan is an intricate society of complex and ancient ethnic histories. Fatima (Fato) is from the Hazara tribe, and Samiullah (Sami) is Pashtun, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Their cultural differences make the conflict between the Capulets and Montagues look like child's play. Fato and Sami were childhood friends, and after Sami returns early from madrassa, the training regime for young men of his standing, they resume clandestine meetings that are fraught with peril. When Rashid, Sami's zealous cousin, finds them together, their journey turns from danger to torture and worse. Abawi writes with a gentle hand as she tells a tale of tribal rituals that's chilling to the bone. Readers will find Abawi's honesty and trust in her audience reminiscent of Deborah Ellis' accessibly written titles, such as My Name Is Parvana (2012), about life as a young person, especially as a woman, in Afghanistan. Abawi's introduction, author's note, and generous glossary supply welcome context for this heartbreaking rendering of forbidden love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)