The assumption of the interrogator is that Parvana is a terrorist who had something to do with the bombing of a school. While she lives in a clean cell, with enough food and water, she is subjected to some extreme methods of interrogation, including sleep deprivation and a constant barrage of loud music. As the male officer and female interpreter try to speak with Parvana, she maintains silence, refusing to acknowledge that she can understand when they use English, Dari and Pashtu to interrogate her. Parvana’s story is told mostly through flashbacks as she sits isolated in a US army base prison somewhere in Afghanistan. Through her YA novels, Ellis shows the perspective of a girl, now a young woman, as she tries not just to survive but to develop her own independence and power in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. US troops and bases are nearby, and the Taliban is still terrorizing the people, especially women and girls. Several years have passed, Parvana is now a teenager, and Afghanistan is still rocked by war. In this final novel of Deborah Ellis’ The Breadwinner series, we are reunited with Parvana, the young girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to support her family and survive in war torn, Taliban controlled Afghanistan.
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