The Middle East. It’s always fascinated me.  

 

My generation has grown up with an ever changing understanding of that region.  From war to rebuilding to somewhere in between.

 

It’s not the politics that interests me, though important.  It’s the women.  While the cultural differences are seemingly vast, driven Afghan women continue to prove that at the heart, we are much the same.   

 

In Double Exposure @authorjeanne uses her experiences as a photojournalist to give us a look into the complexities within Afghan society and the women that steer it towards a brighter tomorrow.  

 

Annie Hawkins has just returned from being deeply imbedded in Yemen for her last assignment.  But there will be no relaxing bathtub for her.  Rather, she steps off the plane to find catastrophes in her personal and professional life await.  Six weeks later back on Afghan soil, none of those problems have resolved.  And this trip, with its focus on going against the Taliban in order to rebuild a school for Afghan girls, may just exacerbate each one.  

 

In spite of the subject matter, this was a quick and easy read.  I appreciated the submersion into Afghan life: their homes, their beliefs, their food, their dress, their dreams.  And as a teacher, I valued the focus on the importance of education for a better tomorrow.  It is the most worthy of all fights. 

  

While easy to read and rich with culture, the writing itself felt undeveloped.  Repetition, uninspired dialogue, and lots of forced storytelling made the overall prose feel stilted.  

 

Still, go into this book for the glimpse into Afghan society.

 

This is the second book in the Annie Hawkins series.  I was able to read it as a stand-alone.   

 

Many thanks to @getredprbooks  and @ten16press for the #gifted copy.