My Name Is Parvana

The Breadwinner #4

by Deborah Ellis

The fourth book in the internationally bestselling series that includes The Breadwinner , Parvana’s Journey and Mud City. In this stunning sequel, Parvana, now fifteen, is found in a bombed-out school and held as a suspected terrorist by American troops in Afghanistan. On a military base in Afghanistan, after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, American authorities have just imprisoned a teenaged girl found in a bombed-out school. The army major thinks she may be a terrorist working with the Taliban. The girl does not respond to questions in any language and remains silent, even when she is threatened, harassed and mistreated over several days. The only clue to her identity is a tattered shoulder bag containing papers that refer to people named Shauzia, Nooria, Leila, Asif, Hassan ― and Parvana. In this long-awaited sequel, Parvana is now fifteen years old. As she waits for foreign military forces to determine her fate, she remembers the past four years of her life. Reunited with her mother and sisters, she has been living in a village where her mother has finally managed to open a school for girls. But even though the Taliban has been driven from the government, the country is still at war, and many continue to view the education and freedom of girls and women with suspicion and fear. As her family settles into the routine of running the school, Parvana, a bit to her surprise, finds herself restless and bored. She even thinks of running away. But when local men threaten the school and her family, she must draw on every ounce of bravery and resilience she possesses to survive the disaster that kills her mother, destroys the school, and puts her own life in jeopardy.  A riveting page-turner, Deborah Ellis’s final novel in the series is at once harrowing, inspiring and thought-provoking. And, yes, in the end, Parvana is reunited with her childhood friend, Shauzia. The paperback edition includes a new cover and map, and an author’s note to provide background and context. Royalties from the sale of this book will go to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. Parvana’s Fund supports education projects for Afghan women and children.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Fiction, War, Middle East

201 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Deborah Ellis has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in developing countries.

She has won the Governor General's Award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award.

A long-time feminist and anti-war activist, she is best known for The Breadwinner Trilogy, which has been published around the world in seventeen languages, with more than a million dollars in royalties donated to Street Kids International and to Women for Women, an organization that supports health and education projects in Afghanistan. In 2006, Deb was named to the Order of Ontario.

Reviews

[Sarika Patkotwar · Rating 5 out of 5]

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of My Name Is Parvana by author Deborah Ellis from Hachette India in exchange for an honest review. We thank the publishing house for the book!

I have read, been moved by and loved many books set in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I've had a growing admiration and I feel a deep connection with stories set in these two beautiful countries. There's something utterly glorious and impressive about books that are based on the downright stronghold of humanity.
I have never ever tried to review said read books simply because it's difficult to put into words the sheer beauty of them. My Name Is Parvana, however, needs to be reviewed and I only hope that my words are able to do it justice.
This book by Deborah Ellis is actually a sequel to the author's The Breadwinner Trilogy which I haven't read but I'm definitely going to keep an eye out on to read sometime simply because Deborah Ellis writes beautifully.
Parvana is a girl from Kabul who is forced to move away from the capital of Afghanistan and her home city after the Taliban take over the country. Along with her ex-journalist mother and her sisters, who take with them their brothers and a few kids they give shelter to, these brave women start a school for girls, a first and one of it's kind establishment in the country. When the school is attacked by foreign military, Parvana finds herself in prison, under the watchful eye and scrutiny of foreign officers.
Parvana was, by far, the bravest girl I have read about. She does whatnot for the safety of everyone. I loved how Parvana let her silence make her imagination run wild and how she gave immense importance to reading and writing. She was a brilliant, brave and beautiful human being.
Although this book did not move me as deeply as most other books set in similar backgrounds have, it has still had an impact on me. I am not going to forget Parvana and her incredible story of courage for a very long time to come. It's going to be very close to my heart. My Name Is Parvana is beyond just a good read. It is a really really good read.
And before ending, I must share this beautiful poem that Parvana, when she herself is captured, writes to a soldier feeling low...

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramps;
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

-Dorothy Parker

[Hafsa Sabira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaaaaaa this series ended! I am happy and upset at the same time. Happy because there's a hint of happy ending in my favourite characters' lives but upset because the series ended.

I will write a better review on this book later. For now,all I will say is that I loved it!

[Jorge Rosas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive ending for the series, with hope and despair at the same time, reunions and progress also goodbyes and setbacks. This was a satisfying way to finish this story and I really liked the ending it was a ending for us but not for the characters, and it’s a bittersweet one.

[Sandra Nedopričljivica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Predivna Parvana, kao i uvijek :*

[Mirae Jing · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was in 8th grade, I read an excerpt from the Breadwinner. I was so intrigued that I decided to read it. I am a now sophomore in high school and read this book. When I found out that it was connected to trilogy, I was pleasantly surprised. The way that Deborah Ellis portrays Parvana with thoughts and actions really made me feel like I was in Afghanistan with her. Parvana is a girl grown and raised in Kabul, post-Taliban. She is a taken by American soldiers from her mothers school for girls. She only had a tattered knapsack, some papers with her name, a notebook, pens, and an English copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. She is taken to an American military base from an abandoned ruins that used to be a school and is now suspected as a staging area got the Taliban to launch attacks against the United States. Parvana is refusing to talk to the soldiers interrogating her even when a translator tries speaking to her in Dari, her native language. They try bribing her with juicy hamburgers, eating in her face but she has gone hungry before and she's stubborn. One of the quotes in the book that really bothered me was when an American soldier said, "She's not a kid. She's a terrorist'" (Ellis. 74). The reason that it bother me so much is because the soldier automatically assumes that every person in Afghanistan is a terrorist. Albeit, Parvana doesn't talk, it doesn't mean she's a terrorist. I feel that Ellis really gave me a sense of what trying to go to school in Afghanistan was like because she writes, "The girls would sometimes come on their own in a group, walking together for protection against the stares and insults"(49). You know that in America, education is valued and praised for all genders. In Afghanistan only boys go to school, and even then they still don’t get the opportunities. Parvana is a gentle person and when a suicide bomber tries to bomb the American base, she has a perfect escape route through the wire. Even though she could escape, she hears a woman crying and begging for help and goes back and starts to help her with the aid of an american soldier. If she could taste freedom, but went back to help a wounded person in my book she is a gentle and kind person. I really enjoyed this book so that why I gave it five stars!

[Rin ⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

حيل زعلت اني خلصت السلسله، لانه بالأخير حسيت اني شوي ارتبطت مع بارفانا ولو كان عندي وايد مشاكل بالأحداث وطريقة الكتابه بس لانه كتاب للأعمار الصغيره فاحس راح امشيها ☹️🤍

[Eric Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parvana of Afghanistan is the Anne of Green Gables of the 21st century. This is a wonderful book about Afghanistan at this time as seen through the eyes of a teen-age girl as she tries to help her mother establish a school for girls. Woven through the story in flashbacks are the events that took place at the school while she is unsuccessfully interrogated by US forces. She refuses to speak showing incredible grit.

Parvana is mischievious, independent, smart, creative but very, very determined. All the while she feels a sadness and loneliness for her murdered father and missing girlfriend, a jealousy of her older sister who seems to get all the praise and opportunity, a puzzlement of the lack of love shown by her mother.

Ellis has created a character that pulses with equal mixes of liveliness and tragedy set against the darkness of Afghan live where innocent people suffer from the shadowy Taliban and the Allied forces. The cast of character Ellis has created around her are marvelous as well. I shake my head in appreciation for the amazing and sympathetic way Ellis has gotten into the mind of these people.

This is the fourth in the Breadwinner Series. Each book is worth reading and passing on to one's family and friends, whether they be children, youth or adults. Highly recommended.

[Princette de Genovia · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Le puedo dar diez estrellas?

[Yoo Kyung Sung · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read Deborah Ellis’ other trilogy Parvana’s stories several years ago such as The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey, and Mud City, my response focused on hardship living in Afghanistan experiencing such political complexity and its subsequent fearful and frustrated reactions. I noticed though my responses this time with My Name Is Parvana paid more attention to teen’s agency and self-protection in spite of the seemingly uncontrollable situation. The empowerment Parvana to be able to protect herself from unknown threats against her school, mother’s death, imprisoned tortures, etc was surprisingly comes from Parvana being still a ‘child’. What I meant by child is a young person’s privilege to imagine and dream more creatively and frequently than most of grown-ups can/do. Parvana constantly uses her ability of imagining and dreaming for hope when physical and mental attacks invade. Parvana’s being a teenage girl did not need any other affirmation to assure her security. When the senior in the US troop investigates Parvana with a range of discomforting strategies accusing her being a terrorist, it did not intimidate her at all. Often she imagines like “ Parvana closed her ears. She tried to send her mind somewhere else” (p. 49) yet faces her reality like“ She pulled her brain out of Paris and back into Afghanistan” (p. 60). Even though Afghanistan situation feels far away from life in Western countries, dynamics among siblings, mother, peers are somewhat similar. I found such portrayal how Parvana and her older sister had loving and hate relationship is pretty universal. Even Cinderella deja vu is located when her older sister Nooria claims her successful New York University admission is due to the story Nooria stole from Parvana; Parvana being a breadwinner disguising like a boy and supported family. Parvana questions whether her mother loved her after she lost her mom. She answers for herself that she did not like her mother but she loved her instead. Such resilience draws readers’ agreeing nods.
Although the story deals with pretty heavy social oppression around inequality in gender rights and domestic violence, portrayal of ignorant mindset of the US military troop senior about Afghanistan cultures invites irresistible chuckles. Parvana’s desire toward literacy practices is also powerful by thinking about irony of tortures --teasing Parvana with a book vs. Having Parvana stand for a long time. Ending is somewhat children's literature typical happy ending though..

[Lenni Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to believe that I've really finished the Breadwinner series. I read the whole thing from when Parvana's father was taken away to the moment we've all been hoping she would get. A sort of happy ending! It took a while, and she lost a lot, but I think that Parvana is very lucky to get the ending she did, considering that some people don't even make it as far as she did. I liked how this book kept going back from the present to the times of the school and then back to the present. It added a little mystery throughout the whole book. I'm a little sad to see the Breadwinner series go, but happy that I'm not reading such sad books. And to think, there are actual people who actually suffer like this. I give every book in the Breadwinner series a five star because they show you that the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

[Books_Above · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't cry🥺, my eyes only got sweaty🥺😅

But seriously. It was soooo beautiful. I just don't know what to say. If you would read just one series this year it should be definitely this one. But you have to prepare a large pocket of tissues first😅
And okey I don't quite like Parvana. She's hard to keep up with sometimes and she may be hard to obey, but with her circumstances? She has very right to. And I just love how she treats others and what she thinks about life and her country and people.
I really want to tell you more but I dont know what🤷‍♀️ this book is just must read. And a lot more. And I love it😍😍

[Carolyn Wilhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish everyone would read this book

I read the first three books in this series and am so impressed with the author, Deborah Ellis. She spent time with people in refugee camps and interviewed them to understand the very difficult living conditions in Afghanistan. What misery some people have to endure. This story takes place when Parvana is 15 years old. Her life is terrible but she tries her best and helps others in worse circumstances. What a great book and series.

[MissStan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book in the series. I enjoyed this series, however it was pretty grim in places. It is important that we understand what it is like for children (especially girls) in parts of the world where they do not have the same freedoms we enjoy. It finishes on a hopeful note but knowing that life in Afghanistan may never be safe.

[Khwahish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving. Have no more words.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parvana's story is heart wrenching.

[Učitaj se! | Martina Štivičić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trilogija Hraniteljica Deborah Ellis upoznala nas je s Parvanom i Shauzijom, a preko njih i svim ostalim djevojčicama koje su se pod vlašću talibana u Afganistanu morale svakodnevno boriti za pravo na normalno odrastanje, djetinjstvo, školovanje, život. Parvana i Shauzia prošle su dug put da dođu do svog cilja (da ne spojlam, ako niste još čitali ovu trilogiju, obavezno pročitajte!). Ipak, njihova priča ovdje ne prestaje.

Talibani više nisu na vlasti, ali to ne znači da u Afganistanu vlada mir i blagostanje, upravo suprotno. Zemlja je još u ratu, a mnogi njeni stanovnici, poglavito muškarci, glasno rogobore protiv prava koja su žene u međuvremenu ostvarile. U ovakvom okruženju, uz stalne prijetnje upućene Parvaninoj obitelji, Parvanina majka pokušava voditi školu za djevojčice. Parvana joj u tome pomaže, zajedno sa sestrama, iako nije baš voljna i sama učiti, pogotovo razlomke. Stvari se, ipak, pomalo mijenjaju, Parvana se nada na bolje.

"I baš kad je izgledalo da se sve smiruje i vraća u normalu, majka je otišla na sastanak s kojeg se nije vratila."

Na početku priče Parvanu susrećemo u logoru američke vojske, smještenu u ćeliji zbog sumnje da je sudjelovala u terorističkom napadu. Parvana se brani šutnjom, unatoč svim pritiscima i mučenjima kojima biva podvrgnuta, ne bi li ju prisilili da progovori. Ova poglavlja izmjenjuju se s onima iz proteklih godina, u kojima doznajemo kako je Parvana dospjela u svoju ćeliju i što se dogodilo sa školom. Razne strane i dalje se sukobljavaju u ratu koji se u čitavoj zemlji ne stišava, a Parvana se pita misli li itko od njih na ljude koji u toj zemlji moraju i dalje živjeti i preživjeti i na to kako je njima.

Iako prvotno zamišljen kao trilogija, potaknuta i dalje alarmantnom situacijom u Afganistanu, kao i brojnim upitima čitatelja o tome što se dalje dogodilo s Parvanom, Deborah Ellis odlučila je nastaviti serijal i Parvani omogućiti da nastavi svoju priču te još jednom da glas svim onim ženama koje prolaze isto što i ona, a čiji se glasovi kroz buku rata ne čuju. Postoji i peti nastavak, koji finalizira Parvaninu priču, za koji se nadam da ćemo ga također moći čitati i na hrvatskom.

U ovom nastavku, Parvana nas podsjeća da smjenom vlasti problemi ne prestaju, odlaskom jednog uzurpatora pojavi se drugi, makar i s dobrim namjerama, a ratu treba jako dugo da završi (a možda nikada i neće). I sve to vrijeme, djevojčice i žene tiho pate i pokušavaju opstati, uvijek u sjeni, uvijek negdje po strani. No, Parvana nam također pokazuje i kako među tim djevojčicama i ženama ima onih iznimno hrabrih, koje će uvijek pomoći svojim sunarodnjakinjama i koje će se hrabro boriti za svoja prava, koristeći sve što im je na raspolaganju. Parvana je jedna od njih, kao i njena prijateljica Shauzia - fantastična Shauzia - koju ćete ovdje ponovno sresti.

Ovo je divan serijal koji se apsolutno mora pročitati, a Parvana je ime koje ćete, vjerujte mi, definitivno zapamtiti.

[Vivone Os · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookoplathon 2022. – Small book <300
Globalni ciljevi: druga kultura, nastavak serijala

Ovaj mi je dio najtužniji od sva četiri. Ozbiljniji je, Parvana je sad djevojka, više nema one dječje razigranosti i neozbiljnosti koja je ublažavala strahote s kojima su se suočavali.
U knjizi se prožimaju dvije radnje. U jednoj Parvanina majka osniva školu za djevojke i opisane su i lijepe i ružne stvari koje im se događaju. U drugoj Parvanu, nakon uništenja škole, zbog spleta nesretnih okolnosti zarobljavaju Amerikanci koji misle da je teroristica.
Bilo mi je teško i tužno čitati, uvijek me strašno rastuže priče o Afganistanu i svim zlima s kojima se žene tamo bore. Srećom, kraj nam ipak daje malecku nadu u bolje sutra.

[Vitesh Shah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the breadwinner series amazing. However this book did not give me the feeling of not leaving the book. The earlier books always were page turners and you keep waiting to see what happens next. Somehow in this book it was not the case. Jumping between the earlier memory and the event of imprisonment by US army made the reading flow a bit difficult.
Towards the end the book does pick up the pace, but still not as great as the first 3 books.
Interesting to see how the Afghan society was developing during the American rule. Majority of the men were quite outdated in their views for women. This kind of explains why there was some support for Taliban from locals.
Overall good book mainly to finish the series.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 4th in the Breadwinner series, continuing the story of Parvana, a girl in Afghanistan. The book starts with Parvana being questioned by foreign military and then switches between the military timeline and the school that her mother opened to teach girls and the issues they have. The 2 story lines do merge at the end.
This is older middle grade or early young adult and there are realities of war and life in Afghanistan that are in the book that may shock sensitive children. A good opportunity to talk to children about war, refugees, women's rights/basic human rights.

[Trisha Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was probably written as an end to the series. The good part is that there's still another book to her journey.

This book delves into the Afghan perspective of Americans, the sufferings of common people in a war torn country. Eventually, it's the women and children who suffer the most.

The book also, reflects on the restrictive mainstream culture, that allowed recapturing of Afghanistan by the Taliban. Definitely a must read. Can't wait to get my hands on the last book of this series.

[Pushpam Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the name suggests it is the story of a teenage girl Parvana from Afghanistan. The story opens in interrogation chamber in US army base camp in Afghanistan where the major is asking her question.
She refuses to answer and she is very much adamant about that. The officer tries everything he could to break her but she doesn't.
She is put in a temporary jail where she starts to think about her past. The book slowly crawls into the past of the girl and she starts to narrates it slowly and smoothly. There is smooth transition from one part to another.
The girl starts to think of how she and her mother had started a girl school in Afghan, where it gets so difficult for any female to do anything. But then they with help of outside support began this school and were doing fairly well until one day Taliban sent them a note threatening them to stop running the school. They don't stop instead they organize school fest to tell people out there that there school would do good for kids. They receive fair amount of response from local people as they decide to continue sending their kids to school.
One fine day things turn bad for them as their mother goes to meet some powerful people to talk about the fate of school but then returns dead. Parvana was broken with that and she doesn't know what to do. Asif and others working with her ask her to escape from the place instead she decides to take her last chance. She calls up Mrs. Weera, who in turn sends someone to rescue them from school. She sends her childhood friend Shauzia to rescue them and take them to safe place.
After reaching a safe place she decides to go back and get bag of her father and hence she was caught in the action.

This is where story starts when she is being interrogated. At the end of book she was being shifted to jail in some remote place as major couldn't crack her down but just when she was being sent, Mrs. Weera came back again and rescued her.

The author has kept the narration very simple. I liked the book and I would recommend it to others.

[Jackson Abells · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Name Is Parvana is the fourth and final installment in the Breadwinner series by Deborah Ellis. It follows the perspective of an Afghan girl named Parvana from two different moments in time. One moment is set while Parvana is working for a school for girls and the other moment is set while Parvana has been arrested by the US military. Although the book alternates between the two parts of the story almost every chapter, they sometimes go on for several chapters. The first chapter of this book is, in my opinion, an excellent piece of writing -- it grabs your attention and is able to exposit in a creative way. This novel also has some good stakes and is also able to point out some of the flaws of the previous installments. The ending of this book came so close being perfect before it was ruined. I'll try my best not to spoil anything, but the book was ending a nearly tear-jerking bittersweet scene before a deus ex machina comes in and shatters the not only the tone but also a perfectly fitting ending to the series. Although this book is a great piece literature in my opinion, it can't seem to understand that a happy ending isn't always a good ending.

Here's my ranking of all of the books:

1: My Name Is Parvana
2: Parvana's Journey
3: The Breadwinner
4: Mud City

[Jace · Rating 3 out of 5]

well this book just wasn't for me but overall it was okay. Parvana is a young girl trying to create a living to support her family but most of all to get out of Afghanistan and to get to Paris but she meets some people along the way. With the Taliban in control women really have 0 chance to make living but her and her friend see an opportunity with boys getting all the jobs they decide to go ahead and dress like some boys. with this change there life just gets a little bit better. I really thought this book was okay it wasn't my kind of stile it just got really boring at some parts and not fun i really do recommend this to someone who is interested in the world and the conflicts going on but it does get a little mature at some points so be prepared for it. over all i enjoyed the book and if you get the chance you should read it.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Is your name Parvana?" quizzes the intimidating Corporal. Parvana keeps her head down and her counsel. She is being held on a military base as a suspected terrorist. But Parvana is no terrorist. She's been living in a village with her mother and sisters, helping to run her mother's school for girls. In the face of intimidating opposition, the family bravely persevere in their mission to educate Afghan women. Yet there will be a terrible price to pay for this bravery, one that the whole family will have to pay.
I just love Deborah Ellis’s sensitive and intuitive writing. This is another excellent insight into Afghan life that not only takes you there, but also inspires you to help these people in such need. A thoroughly excellent book.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caputured

This book appears, from what the author said, to have been written after the first three books in the series, as, like L. Frank Baum and Sir Arthur Cowen Doyle, the fans asked for more, and so Deborah wrote one more book, and this was, to me, the best.

The story begins with Parvana being captured by the Americans, but we don't know why, or what is going on. Gradually, with each other chapter going back and forth in time, we learn how she came to be where she is.

A fine conclusion to the whole Breadwinner series. Parvana has grown up.

Recommend the whole dang series, for middle-school readers, but good for adults too. A quick, two hour or so read, for adults, but compelling enough that I had to read the whole series.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

So Parvana has been captured by a English army. She has been caught at her school surrounded by bombs and missiles. The English men want to know why she was there with the bombs, so they torture her in a number of ways. But she lives on not saying a word.

I picked this book because I really didn't have much of a choice. This is my Red Maple book and it was the only one left. So me being me I took the last one. I don't like not having a book, makes me feel left out.

I finished this book because I liked Parvana's courage to stand up to the English men who were holding her captive.

I recommend this book to Tracy because she likes slow paced books.

[Rosanne Hawke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parvana is now fifteen and held in jail on an American army base. This is a sequel to the Parvana series which possibly inspired much children's literature written about Afghanistan. I enjoyed this more the second time around. The first time I was hoping for more of the first Parvana, however I've realised that she with her courage is still in Parvana's Promise. I still think a change of tense for the flashback chapters would have been helpful to clarify the time change for any eleven-year-olds who will also want to read this. Another worthy addition to children's literature.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parvana is now a teenager and unfortunately just been arrested by American soldiers. She was discovered by a bombed out school and was thought to be a terrorist. She refuses to speak to her captors and instead reminisces of the school that her mother built for girls. There was a lot of resistance to their education and someone unknowingly slipped grenades into the shed. Fortunately everything got sorted out in the end but Afghanistan remains a dangerous place to live especially for women and girls.

[Roseann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any girl, or woman for that matter, who is complaining about how hard life is for women here in America should read this story about a teenaged girl in Afghanistan. You will cheer for Parvana's strength in adversity. I hope that there are more "Parvana" books on the way as she is a great role-model for young women.

[Barb Keltner · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most touching and frightening fiction series I've read in a long time, to learn what's going on -- from the point of view of a young girl -- in Afghanistan to their young girls. The author is donating the royalties to "Parvana's Fund" that supports education projects for Afghan women and children, which exemplifies her passion for helping this horrific situation.