I wanted to read this book mainly because the reviews seemed so diverse in their array of opinions but so cloistered in that they mainly came from Caucasian American women. Similarly, the author is a white Caucasian woman. Honestly, as a South Asian Muslim, I have some qualms about the sourcing of this novel. Could they not have an Afghani woman report on the story of Kamala Jan and her incredible ingenuity and bravery under the Taliban regime? And is the family really so applauding of the United Nations and the United States in particular even now as conditions in Afghanistan continue to slowly improve in some parts but not in all? And could it be troubling that we are always fed these narratives about "extraordinary Muslim women under Taliban regime" instead of focusing on the real violence and terror imposed by both the Taliban and American forces in Afghanistan?

These were some of my thoughts while going through this book. Otherwise, it was written well, but still you can tell it was from a Westernized perspective and not from Kamala Jan's. It's little things like phrasing, but it is what it is.