Synopsis: Set in Pakistan, this is the story of a teen girl living with her mother and siblings in a diplomatic compound. As if getting used to another new country and set of customs and friends isn't enough, she must cope with an increasingly tense political situation that becomes dangerous with alarming speed. Her life and those of her sister and brother depend on her resourcefulness and the unexpected help of an enigmatic Muslim classmate. (from Amazon)Review: Laidlaw’s book stirs up the emotions in a spectacular way. Her prose took me through the gambit – laughter, sorrow, anger, wonder, fear, love and finally – hope. She creates real characters, people I feel I might meet one day. She drew a picture of Pakistan both heavy and light, filled with sorrow and joy – which in my limit time in the country, I know to be a true representation of that place. She places a common trauma - the dissolution of a couple’s marriage – into a unique setting – a broiling Islamic nation – and she does it well.
Laidlaw’s prose is surprisingly polished for a first time fiction author, although it retained some roughness of inexperience. However, if this is her first attempt, I shall eagerly await her future endeavors.
I highly recommend this book, in particular anyone with interest in Central Asia.
I received this book free as part of the EarlyReveiwer Program on LibraryThing, in exhcnage for my fair and personal review.
Bookmarks: 7.5 of 10
Awards: None
Date Finished: 2-3-2013
Pages: 320
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