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    Thunder Over Kandahar
    Unavailable
    Thunder Over Kandahar
    Unavailable
    Thunder Over Kandahar
    Audiobook6 hours

    Thunder Over Kandahar

    Written by Sharon E. McKay

    Narrated by Mozhan Marno

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A powerful novel of enduring friendship set amid the terror and chaos of present-day Afghanistan.

    Best friends Tamanna and Yasmine cannot believe their good fortune when a school is set up in their Afghan village; however, their dreams for the future are shattered when the Taliban burn down the school and threaten the teacher and students with death. As Tamanna faces an arranged marriage to an older man, and the Taliban target Yasmine's Western-educated family, the girls realize they must flee. Traveling through dangerous mountain passes, the two unaccompanied teens find themselves in mortal danger as they confront land mines, a suicide bomber, and roving bands of Taliban. But when the two girls are separated, they are left without the one thing that has helped them survive-each other.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJan 25, 2011
    ISBN9780307879707
    Unavailable
    Thunder Over Kandahar
    Author

    Sharon E. McKay

    Sharon E. McKay is the award-winning author of many books based on real events, including War Brothers: The Graphic Novel and Thunder Over Kandahar. She was also named a Canadian War Artist and spent time in Afghanistan embedded with the Canadian troops. She lives in Prince Edward Island.

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    Reviews for Thunder Over Kandahar

    4/5

    21 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book is one of the 100 YA books that CBC says should make you proud to be Canadian. I don't read a lot of YA fiction but this certainly seems to me to be a great story. The author spent time in Afghanistan to research this book and then had it vetted by numerous readers including Afghani Muslims. Yasmine grew up in Britain but her parents were Afghani and they decided the family should move back to Afghanistan to try to help their country. Her father taught at a university but her mother, a lawyer, could not find work in that land that was still very traditional. While Yasmine and her mother were walking to meet her father one afternoon several vehicles full of Taliban pulled up to them and beat the mother. She was left with a badly broken leg among other injuries. The family decided to move to a village where the father's family had an ancestral home. A young girl the same age as Yasmine, Tamanna, came to deliver bread and she was asked if she would be a companion to Yasmine. Tamanna had not been educated but she was very clever and she soon learned to read and write and to speak English. Yasmine's mother was still not recovered from her injuries and they decided to go see the medic at the Forward Operating Base of the UN forces just outside of the village. On the way there they were attacked and both mother and father were severely injured. The pair were airlifted to Kandahar Airforce Base but rules prohibited Yasmine accompanying them. The forces arranged for a local driver to take her to Kandahar and Yasmine convinced Tamanna (who was to be married to a much older man) to accompany her. The driver abandoned Yasmine and Tamanna on the road because he objected to being given orders by a girl. Yasmine and Tamanna knew that they could not travel without a man accompanying them on the road. They took to the mountains, travelling by night, to find a way into Pakistan. The girls supported each other throughout the trip and Yasmine even changed identity with Tamanna when she could no longer travel. I loved the strength of the two girls in a time and place where girls were considered second class citizens with no rights. There is also lots of information about the history of Afghanistan which shows it was not always a place of religious oppression. This book was published in 2010 so it does not include recent developments in Afghanistan but, in essence, nothing much has changed. As Sharon McKay says at the end of the timeline in the book "Peace remains...beyond reach..."
    • 4/5
      Well-written, realistic story about two girls living in post-September 11th Afghanistan where the Taliban is trying to hold on to power. The oppression of and hostility toward women is depicted particularly well.
    • 4/5
      When I picked up Thunder Over Kandahar I assumed it would be similar to other novels dealing with war torn countries. In a lot of ways it was: the author spent time overseas to research and immerse herself in the culture,and the main characters were faced with the chaos and terrors of war. So what makes this book stand out, and how is it different than the others? To me, it was the unique perspective and insight that McKay shared with the reader, and the tough questions the reader is left to ponder and grapple with. A riveting story of current day Afghanistan, the perils of war, and how friendship, hope, and love can prevail even in the most darkest of times.
    • 4/5
      This Snow Willow nominee and my #bookaday read seemed to be a blend of Ellis' Breadwinner and Smuckers' Underground to Canada by its portrayal of life in Afghanistan for women/girls and the long, courageous journey to freedom for Tamanna and Yasmine. Although it was well written with strong characters and a action-packed plot, I still favour the stories of Parvanna, Julilli and Liza. Maybe I just can't envision letting go of the books I love to adapt this novel in my teaching. That said, many students who love both Breadwinner and Underground to Canada often come to the library in search of similar stories and Thunder over Kandahar would definitely fit the bill here.
    • 4/5
      Narrated by Mozan Marno. Yasmine and Tamanna become close friends when Yasmine’s father hires Tamanna to be a companion to his daughter. Yasmine and her family are western-raised and educated; Tamanna is a poor village girl who has never been anywhere else. Yasmine’s family is a target for the Taliban while Tamanna is forced into an arranged marriage. The two girls decide to flee for Pakistan for safety, although two girls traveling alone is extremely dangerous. Marno's earthy contralto and controlled pace gives listeners a visceral sense of the harshness of life in Afghanistan, but also gives nobility to the characters.