Synopses & Reviews
Fourteen-year-old Shauzia dreams of seeing the ocean and eventually making a new life in France, but it is hard to reconcile that dream with the terrible conditions of the Afghan refugee camp where she lives. Making things worse is the camps leader, Mrs. Weera, whose demands on Shauzia make her need to escape all the more urgent. Her decision to leave necessitates Shauzia dress like a boy, as her friend Parvana did, to earn money to buy passage out. But her journey becomes a struggle to survive as she's forced to beg and pick through garbage, eventually landing in jail. An apparent rescue by a well-meaning American family gives her hope again, but will it last? And where will she end up? Mud City is the final book in the acclaimed trilogy that includes The Breadwinner (a best-seller) and Parvana's Journey. It paints a devastating portrait of life in refugee camps, where so many children around the world are trapped, some for their whole lives. But it also tells movingly of these kids' resourcefulness and strength, which help them survive these unimaginable circumstances.
Synopsis
Description Mud City continues the story of Parvana's best friend Shauzia who escaped the misery of life in Kabul, only to end up in a refugee camp in Pakistan. She still dreams of making a new life in France. But it is hard to imagine herself in a field of lavender in the Widows' Compound of the crowded refugee camp outside Peshawar. Shauzia decides to leave the camp and try her luck on the streets. She is determined to earn money for her passage out of the country. Peshawar is dangerous but she has Jasper, the dog who has followed her. And, she knows how to masquerade as a boy to look for work. She figures she knows how to survive. She does survive for a time. But a dishonest man gets her imprisioned. Fortunately, Americans she met while begging rescue her. They take her and Jasper to their home and she has a taste of a life where children have food, beds and toys; she feels safe. But just when the family may ask her to stay with them, disaster ensues, and Shauzia is back in the camp, where she discovers the old choices are not so easy any more.