Under the Persimmon Tree

Staples, Suzanne Fisher. (2005). Under the persimmon tree. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Age range: Grades 5-8

Plot Summary:
A young Afghan girl named Najmah deals with the destruction of her family after the Taliban take her older brother and father, and her mother and baby brother die from an American bomb. Najmah makes her way to Peshawar, Pakistan to look for her brother and father, and meets up with American turned Muslim Nusrat. Nusrat teaches Afghan children math etc. under a persimmon tree in her yard as she waits for her doctor husband to return from northern Afghanistan.

Comments:
This is not a very engaging book. There are descriptions of tragic events, but the words did not evoke any real emotion. The passages from Najmah's point of view are told in first person perspective, while Nusrat's are told in third person. This stalls the flow when reading. One positive thing is that Staples includes foreign words (a glossary is provided), which add to the authenticity of the setting. Staples tries not to glorify America, but in the end I was left hoping that Najmah would go to America and get a decent education. Especially since she was bright enough to learn English in less than a month... There isn't much action or humor in the book, so I find it hard to imagine a YA reader staying interested. Most disappointing of all, the ending is unresolved, with a writing style completely different from the rest of the book.

Rating: 2/5