Nadia Hashimi Books

In 1978 Kabul, ten-year-old Sitara Zalmani enjoys a privileged life as the daughter of a prominent family during a time of promise under progressive leadership. However, her world collapses when communists stage a coup, assassinating the president and her family, leaving her as the sole survivor. Smuggled out by a guard named Shair, she is taken in by a female American diplomat, who adopts her and raises her in the U.S. There, Sitara becomes Aryana Shepherd, a dedicated student who eventually becomes a renowned surgeon, choosing to bury her traumatic past. Fast forward to 2018 in New York, Aryana's life is disrupted when an elderly patient, Shair, enters her examination room. He is the soldier who saved her but may also be responsible for her family's murder. This encounter ignites Aryana's anger and thirst for answers, prompting her to confront the truth. Determined to uncover the past, she embarks on a journey back to Kabul, now a battleground between a corrupt government and the Taliban, forcing her to confront the memories of the life she once cherished and lost.

Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See. In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, and chaperone her older sisters. But Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt this unusual custom. A century earlier, her great-great grandmother, Shekiba, left orphaned by an epidemic, saved herself and built a new life the same way. Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl the Broke Its Shell interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of marriageable age? Will Shekiba always live as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as a bride, how will she survive?

The story follows Zeba, whose tranquil existence as a devoted wife and mother is upended by the brutal murder of her husband, Kamal. In the aftermath, she struggles with shock and confusion, unable to explain her actions during the crime. As tensions rise in her village, Zeba faces the wrath of a mob and ultimately finds herself imprisoned, setting the stage for a gripping exploration of grief, societal pressures, and the quest for justice.

Mahmoud’s passion for his wife, Fereiba, a schoolteacher, is greater than any love she’s ever known. But their happy, middle-class world implodes when their country is engulfed in war and the Taliban rises to power. When Mahmoud becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime and is murdered, his widow is forced to flee Kabul with their three children. Fereiba has one hope to survive: she must find a way to reach her sister’s family in England. With forged papers and help from kind strangers they meet along the way, Fereiba manages to smuggle them as far as Greece. But in a busy market square, their fate takes a frightening turn when her teenage son, Saleem, becomes separated from the rest of the family. Faced with an impossible choice, Fereiba pushes on with her daughter and baby, while Saleem falls into the shadowy underground network of undocumented Afghans who haunt the streets of Europe’s capitals. Across the continent Fereiba and Saleem struggle to reunite, exhausted but undefeated, and ultimately find a place where they can be a family again.

Includes reading guide questions and an essay by the author.

In this insightful and affecting YA novel by well-loved author of books for adults and middle graders Nadia Hashimi, an Afghan American teenager's small town is thrown into controversy and violence when her brother, taking a stand against hatred, plays a prank that some think went too far... When Yalda hears that her twin brother, Yusuf, will be performing with his band at a local venue, she lets her friends convince her to sneak out to see his show. But the night has something else in store: After the opening band makes some ugly jokes about "terrorists," Yusuf uses his time in the spotlight for an impulsive stunt responding to the hate speech. Suddenly, simmering tensions begin boiling over in their Virginia town, where many Afghan refugees have sought safety. When a video of Yusuf's performance goes viral online, it seems like everyone in town turns against their family's restaurant, leaving their livelihood in jeopardy. And then Yusuf is seriously injured in a mysterious fall. Despite her grieving and frightened family, friends she is not sure she can trust, and a town that no longer feels like a safe home, Yalda must try to find her own voice--and do what she can to change her world for the better.

Zebas ruhiges Leben wird erschüttert, als ihr Mann Kamal brutal ermordet aufgefunden wird und sie blutverschmiert neben ihm steht. Während sie kein Wort über den Vorfall verliert, glaubt ihr Anwalt Yusuf an ihre Unschuld, kann jedoch nichts beweisen, solange Zeba ihm nicht die Wahrheit sagt.