Damsa looks around a strange gated compound, not sure what to think. She has been on the streets for the last few days, alone and afraid after running away from home. She would still be frightened and hungry if it wasn’t for a police woman named Shauzia.

Shauzia herself is in danger, as the Taliban are rounding up any women in authority, education or of influence. The Taliban have swept back into power in Afghanistan, now that foreign military forces are leaving the country. The Taliban regime forbids women to go to school and they have imposed many other strict restrictions on women and girls.

The compound is a haven for girls and women who were to be forced into marriages, beaten by their husbands, or even disfigured by their own family for not marrying old men who had negotiated to marry them. The leader is Parvana who has lived through her own desperate struggles from very young. Now decades after cutting her hair and dressing like a boy in order to support her family, Parvana has saved hundreds from forced marriage, misery and starvation.

Damsa meets others in the compound as Parvana says goodbye to her sister Maryam, son Rafi and husband Asif. They are going to flee the country to New York where a family member is waiting for them.

Travel to the airport is dangerous and slow, with multiple checkpoints and trucks full of Taliban soldiers roaming the streets amped up on their return to power. This difficult journey is nothing compared to what waits for them at the airport.

Rafi is suddenly alone, lost and with no idea how to find his way home.

Back at the compound, Damsa who is used to servants doing everything for her, must learn all the skills needed to survive, care for others, and help rebuild lives.

Parvana waits for news of her family with the threat of the Taliban hanging over her and all those she shelters.

One More Mountain is the 5th book in the Breadwinner series, but can be read on its own.

Parvana is now married with a son, and has spent the past two decades saving women and children from arranged marriages, abuse and hunger. Set in 2021, after the Taliban have returned to power, Parvana must face the same fears as when she was young, trying to keep herself and loved ones safe.

Over the years she has helped many people, young and old, men and woman. This network of kindness is part of this new story as her son is soon alone, scared and far from home, and just the mention of his mother’s name brings instant support and friendship from people he meets.

Told in three viewpoints – Parvana herself, her son Rafi trying to get home and Damsa, a fifteen year old wealthy girl escaping an arranged marriage.

As I read, I was quickly drawn into the setting of Afghanistan streets, feeling the desperation and terror of the Afghan people as they flee a brutal regime. After watching this happen live on News channels last year, this story was alive in my mind.

A multi award winning author with her Breadwinner series published around the world, in graphic novel format and in animation on Netflix, Deborah Ellis has shown children and young adults around the world the plight and the courage of the Afghan people.

Author – Deborah Ellis

Age – 11+

(2022, Allen & Unwin, Family, Courage, Blended Family, Crime, War, Series, Secret, Grief, Conflict, US Soldiers, Taliban Fighters, Forced Marriage, Child Brides, Violence, Guns, Bomb, Afghanistan)