Shooting Kabul is a book I had to read this past semester
for a seminar class which focused on childhood and war. Intense class,
right? Anyway, I am notorious for not reading the assigned texts for my
classes mostly because I am reading other books for pleasure and
procrastinate like crazy! However, this semester I really pushed myself
not just for the good grades but because each book I read was going
toward my 50 books of 2012 count. In between my eight a.m. and twelve
thirty class, I sat in one of the dining hall lounge areas and began
reading this book. It ended up taking me only three days to read it and
I found that it was a rather enjoyable read.
The story centers on
a boy named Fadi who's family is in the midst of escaping Afghanistan
when his little sister falls of the truck they are on to escape and they
are forced to leave her behind as they go to America. Throughout the
story, Fadi's inner struggle mirrors those of iconic characters such as
Amir from
The Kite Runner and Melinda Sordino from
Speak.
He is plagued with the idea that it is his fault that his sister is
lost all alone across the ocean. While his life has been far from what
Americans would call "normal", Fadi and his family try to coexist with
their new home by getting jobs and going to school and doing things
expected of them by the American people. Fadi often reads a book called
From the Mixed-up Filed of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and loves
photography. He enters his own photograph into a contest and
desperately hopes to win because the first prize winner is able to
travel to India. Fadi's hope is that he will win and be able to find
his sister while over seas.
This book is most definitely a bit
wishy-washy at times particularly with the ending. There are some
scenarios that you read and just know would never happen that way. That
being said, I think this was an excellent novel. One theme I love is
that Muslims are not evil. Fadi and his family are very peaceful
people. Something else I particularly like is the title. It definitely
foreshadows the end of the novel. Overall it was a fresh read and I
will give it
4 out of 5 stars.
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