The Breadwinner

The Breadwinner Summary
A girl named Parvana is living in an apartment with her family which includes her father, her mother, named Fatima, older sister, named Nooria, younger sister, named Maryam, and baby brother ,named Ali .They all live in Kabul, Afghanistan. Parvana’s father is the only one authorized to work in the family but due to a leg that was injured in a bombing, he has a hard time working. Parvana goes with her father to the Marketplace where he works, reading and writing letters in Pashtu and Dari--due to the war and Taliban control, many people are illiterate, and need assistance reading and writing. One day Talibs come to Parvana's home and take her father away because he attended university in England. When Parvana tries to bring home food, a Talib sees her and chases her. Parvana is forced to cut her hair and dress as a boy because women were not allowed to work. She becomes the family's breadwinner, wearing her dead brother Hussein’s clothes.
Parvana runs into girl that she used to go to school with named Shauzia who has been put through the same experience. They start to work together and soon become close friends. They were never that close in school but they are now trying to figure out ways to earn more money. She also meets a family friend named Mrs. Weera, a former physical education teacher who comes to stay with Parvana's family and takes charge of the household because Parvana's mother has become severely depressed over the loss of her husband. With the help of her friend, Parvana's mother begins to feel better and eventually teams up with her and a group of other women to write the Afghanistan National Magazine, smuggling it to and from Pakistan to be published. Throughout the book Parvana grows closer to her older sister Nooria, and becomes more responsible and stronger emotionally as a person. She also becomes very close with a woman who appears in the window of a building behind where Parvana works. This woman throws small gifts...