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Teen SRC 2017 – The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis

The Breadwinner is a novel on an eleven year old girl named Parvana who’s father was sent to jail for getting educated in England rather then his own country Afghanistan. Without the father Parvans family of 5 her mother, older sister Nooria, little sister Maryam, little brother Ali, and of course her are in desperate need for money. Since the Taliban were ruling over Afghanistan women were not allowed to work. Parvanas family was also in great danger. At any time a bomb could go off which had happened many times to there family, causing them to gain many injuries and lose many things. Parvana and her family decide Parvana must dress up as a boy and read and write letters for illiterate people.

Teen SRC 2017 – Parvana’s Journey by Deborah Ellis

Parvana’s Journey is the sequel to the The Breadwinner. Her family went to a town in Pakistan to get her older sister married which was then taken over by the taliban but she stayed behind in hopes that her father would be released. Eventually her father was released and they started the journey together to find their family but the story started with the funeral of her father. She continues the journey by herself and along the way she finds a baby named Hassan whose mother was killed in a village, a boy named Asif with one leg who she found in a cave, and a girl named Leila who lived in a hut with her dying grandmother. These kids went to refugee camps, villages, and anywhere they could stay for protection. No one could help them because no one could help themselves. People were trying to sell their babies to get some money. Eventually she is reunited with her family, the children she brought on the way with her on her journey became family.

Teen SRC 2017 – Bifocal by Deborah Ellis & Eric Walters

Bifocal is a novel on terrorism in a high school. The story is told from two different points of view. Haroon who is a brown skinned boy accused of being a terrorist. His family were immigrants from Afghanistan hoping to find a new and safer life. He and the rest of the brown students in his school are laughed at and bullied. Unlike his sister Zana, Haroon doesn’t stand up for himself thinking things will automatically get better, instead things keep getting. Jay is a white boy and a football superstar at his school. He hangs out with Kevin the captain of the football team who is a bad influence on Jay. after listening to everything Kevin has to say about brown people and Muslims having to do with terrorism, Jay picks up on this false information and grows a strong hate towards brown people and Muslims. Eventually Jay realizes Kevin is a bad influence and apologises to Haroon for any harm he caused him.