"When the Moon is Low" by Nadia Hashimi

When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi is a heartbreaking story about Fereiba and her family in Afghanistan.  Part 1 of the book is her childhood and her life in Afghanistan growing up and her marriage to Mahmoud, a good man who was an engineer, and their three children.  Part 2 focuses mostly on Saleem, her 15-yr.-old son and their journey to England after her husband was killed by the Taliban.  He felt the responsibility to be the man of the house and then got separated from his family in Greece on their way to England to live with Fereiba's sister.

This book kept my interest all the way through.  It shows how tough the life of a refugee is and my heart just goes out to them.  I liked Fereiba who always felt like an outsider and had a very hard life except for a short time.  I found myself pulling for Saleem in the second part of the book which showed how three different women helped him along the way and how encouraging that was for him.  I was a bit disappointed that the ending was sort of open, but I guess that was better than a sad ending.  I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in what it is like to be a refugee or Muslim.  It was an eye-opening story for me to understand how not all Muslims are extremists.  It even has some discussion questions in the back for book clubs to use.  It's very good!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)



Tweet by Karen:

Reaching the Unreached-MENA https://t.co/cbMY4fQUHp donated after reading WHEN THE MOON IS LOW 

— Karen Zemek (@kzemek) May 14, 2016

Here is a link to donate to help refugees in Greece through Samaritan's Purse
Here is a link to donate to help refugees through World Vision



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