Sparks Like Stars
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)
Guiding Questions (adapted from the Princeton 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?