Book Review: The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

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The novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, follows the life of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, Afghanistan. The novel goes through Amir’s childhood in the 1970’s, to his move to the US, and his return to Afghanistan again as a young man. As a child, Amir struggled with fulfilling the expectations of his father, Baba. Amir’s relationship with his childhood best friend, Hassan, led them to share a close bond, almost like brothers. Despite this, Amir’s jealousy drove him to betray Hassan, breaking their bond, and eventually driving Hassan away. These actions began to haunt Amir well into his adulthood. Almost a decade later, Amir finds out that Hassan is now dead and his only son, Sohrab, has been left alone in a now Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Eager to make amends to his past actions, Amir returns for Afghanistan in hopes of finding Sohrab and confronting the past that he left behind. This breathtaking novel takes the reader on a journey of full of redemption, brotherhood, and making peace with the past. Reading this book was truly amazing. I loved how the author described the story with such detail and the writing, setting, and plot was very enjoyable. I would recommend this book to other people my age as well. 

Review by Teen Volunteer, 8/8/24