This book is an easy five stars for me.

I let myself take my time with this one. To read a few chapters and then let them marinate in my mind before moving on. I'm glad I did. The story is sad, but also beautiful in its own way, and the characters deserve the readers' time and attention.

I wept. Not just a my-eyes-welled-up-and-maybe-a-tear-or-two-slipped-down-my-cheek type of cry. It was a face-twisted-up-trying-desperately-not-to-make-sobbing-noises-while-tears-pour-down-my-face type of cry.

The author has a way of giving you all the information you need to fully connect you to the characters and the story while still moving the plot along at a quick pace. The reader gets to watch both main characters (Mariam and Laila) from childhood into adulthood. We see them love and grow in their own ways as they battle domestic difficulties in the midst of war.

Though fictional, I feel this book taught me a lot about the people of Afghanistan, specifically the women and how they were treated. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction pulled from real life events.