Sharon E. McKay, photographs by Rafal Gerza,
Thunder Over Kandahar
Annick Press, 2010.

Rating: E*

Sharon McKay, who has been designated as a Canadian War Artist, for her previous works for young people set amid various wars, now brings us into the modern day conflict in Afghanistan. Having spent three weeks in Afghanistan travelling to the front lines with Canadian troops and visiting Afghan schools doing research for this novel, McKay gives us a first-hand view of this war-torn country.

The novel is centred around two young girls - Yasmine, who has been raised in England by her highly educated parents and has just recently returned to Afghanistan to live in the small village where her father was born; and Tamanna, a young Afghan girl who has lost her brother to the Taliban and lives with her mother under the guardianship of her brutal uncle who has already caused her to be crippled from a broken hip. Yasmine finds life in Afghanistan very different from the freedom she enjoyed while living in England and wishes that she could return there. When Tamanna is hired by Yasmine=s father to be her companion they become very close and Tamanna learns much from the more enlightened family. All seems to be going very well for the girls as they exist inside the confines of Yasmine's home, however, when the village school is opened and the girls attend on opening day, trouble begins. Members of the Taliban arrive to shut the school down and threaten to kill Yasmine because she is not wearing the proper dress for a young Afghan girl. Next both of Yasmine's parents are shot and taken to a hospital in Kandahar. At the same time Tamanna's uncle decides that she should be married and negotiates an arranged marriage with a much older man. When arrangements are made for Yasmine to go to Kandahar she wants to take Tamanna, who is on the run from her uncle, with her. As the journey progresses, the girls are abandoned by the driver who was hired to take them and are left to find their own way in the treacherous countryside. They travel mainly at night so as to avoid detection and receive help from a family along the way as they head towards the border with Pakistan.

McKay gives a realistic portrayal of the dangers facing two young girls travelling alone in Afghanistan as the Taliban attempt to reinstate their authority. The girls have developed a very strong friendship and are willing to do anything to help each other, even assuming the other=s identity in order to get needed medical attention. While McKay avoids the detail of some of the brutality which the girls encounter, she portrays the unsettled nature of life in a war-torn country and especially the plight of the women who have virtually no decision making powers.
The black-and-white photographs by Rafal Gerzak at the beginning of each chapter add to the reality of the text and show scenes of the military operations as well as the everyday life in the country.

This novel will be welcomed by adolescent readers who have an interest in war related topics and current affairs. It can be used in Social Studies programs which focus on these topics and should stimulate some good discussion about present day wars, cultural beliefs and the place of women in society.

Thematic Links: Afghanistan - War; Taliban; Friendship

Victoria Pennell
Vol. 16, number 2
December 2010

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.