Review Detail

My Name is Parvana

Middle Grade Fiction 398

A Satisfying Conclusion to a Great Series

November 15, 2012 (Updated: June 19, 2026)

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Parvana has been taken in by the US military police under suspicion of bombing a school. She refuses to talk to them, even though her English is very good, because she no longer trusts anyone. In flashbacks alternating with the present day, we learn what has happened to Parvana since the events of The Breadwinner. Her mother has been running a school for girls that is under constant threat, her older sister is sent to college in the US, and she has hope for the future that things will get better in her country. The soldiers are not overly cruel, but clearly want to find out what happened to her school, and why Parvana was in the wrong place and the wrong time.

Good Points

It was good to visit with Parvana again, even though her life is still very much affected by the war. She and her mother have been trying to make things better in the only way they know how, and Ellis very ably and touchingly describes their struggle. I always thought that this was a great book for 6th graders to read together, and they actually LIKE the assignment! It's good to see that the book has had a more wide-ranging effect than I knew!