This book was much sadder than I expected it to be. Some themes of the book are war, family, guilt, death, and loyalty. The characters were well fleshed out and we watch them age and mature along side historical events. Readers learn so much about their culture and social norms and what life in their country was like before the Taliban took over. I feel like I should have listened to this as an audiobook so I would know for sure how to pronounce certain words and names. This is a fantastic book and I will be checking out the authors other works!