Susan D. (mom2nine) reviewed The Lightless Sky: A Twelve-Year-Old Refugee's Harrowing Escape from Afghanistan and His Extraordinary Journey Across Half the World on + 343 more book reviews
I always have difficulty with the star rating, this time I wavered between 4 and 5 stars. I have a tendency to rate non-fiction a bit differently, hence the 5 stars, for a few reasons: the book is an "easy read", meaning that I read it in a day. It is not necessarily well written, as it has been compared to Khaled Hosseini's books. I do not find this a fair, nor appropriate comparison. This book is more a memoir and reads accordingly. It seemed as though Passarlay has told his story many times, there is no gratuitous violence or drama, it just "is", hence it will stay with me. I have a 12 yr. old son and felt as though he was telling this story, which is the main reason for the 5 star rating. This story could be anyone's child, how harrowing is that thought? The crisis of displaced people, including children is at epic proportions, how will our world address this crisis? Also, how will children, who have grown up in such violence, respond? Book received in goodreads contest, with expectation of fair/unbiased review
