Order the book through your local bookstore, online, or check your local library for digital and physical loans.
Context Links
Reclaiming Family And Memory In 'Sparks Like Stars' (NPR)
A Compelling Story of Survival Unfolds in “Sparks Like Stars” by Nadia Hashimi (BookTrib)
Saur Revolution (Wikipedia)
A Look At Afghanistan's 40 Years Of Crisis — From The Soviet War To Taliban Recapture (NPR)
An April Day That Changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover (Afghanistan Analysts Network)
Questions
Adapted from Princeton Book Review
Did the book’s premise and structure match expectations? How did this influence your reading experience?
There are many themes in this book: love, the meaning of family, living in a war-torn country, searching for answers and trying to find peace, starting a new life, grief, survivor guilt, the compassion of strangers, the culture of Afghanistan, and women in Afghanistan. Which theme did you want more of? Less of?
Do you think the author presented believable characters?
Did you learn anything about Afghanistan's history or the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan? Did the story change your viewpoint of anything?
Sitara suffers from survivor guilt, with haunting memories of the day of her family's murder. She's on a journey to reclaim her heritage and accept what happened. How has this shaped her life in a good way? What do you think the negative impact of this experience was?
Did any character make you angry? Did you relate to all the characters?
The book highlights the early foster care system. Discuss how this made you feel?
Could you sense the author's deep passion for her country and culture in the writing style?