Baheer, an Afghan teen, faces a hardscrabble life under the Taliban, while post-9/11 American high-school senior Joe's college plans are put on pause as he begins his military tour. Joe's desire for retribution wanes when he is assigned a reconstruction mission instead of fighting on the front lines. As the boys' paths cross, mistrust clouds their judgment, but an unlikely friendship emerges through their shared experiences of war's gruesome realities. They realize their interdependence: Baheer hopes to improve his English and find work, while Joe seeks to write about the "unbiased truth" of war. Writing in alternating points of view, the co-authors draw on their real-life friendship (further explored in appended authors' notes) to tell a touching story about differences and finding common ground. Though regional geopolitics are rendered in easy binaries that gloss over America's role in the rise of the Taliban, the story effectively focuses on those most affected by violent conflict and the characters' shift in perspective from prejudice to openness. Joe's reading of war literature leads him to realize the common hardships people face in a war zone, while Baheer's engagement with Persian classics, Afghan poetry, and Quranic verses help him understand the humanity of all people. Through their individual reflections, they come to understand that education is the key to rebuilding a society, and they work together toward this goal. Sadaf Siddique July/August 2021 p.103(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This intensely personal wartime novel about the aftermath of 9/11 and Operation Enduring Freedom unfolds from two third-person perspectives. The narrative begins in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 10, 2001, as Afghan 16-year-old Baheer, whose large family values education, sells rugs, hides their radio from the Taliban, and learns that the Taliban have killed Ahmad Shah Massoud, "the last mujahedeen commander holding out against the Taliban." The next day, the family tries to make sense of the burning towers from a smuggled VHS tape of CNN, eventually moving to the countryside to avoid the coming conflict. In Iowa on 9/11, patriotic white high school senior Joe Killian, who enlisted in the National Guard for tuition, is shattered by the violence, filled with vengeance toward al-Qaeda. Two years later, he's summoned from the University of Iowa to Afghanistan. Initially, Joe resents his unit's peace mission to Baheer's town, and he and Baheer experience cultural stumbles and clashes, but soon a friendship grows. While narrative tension lags in parts, this thoughtful portrait of friendship and the human side of war, based on the authors' true story, proves engrossing. Ages 12--up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (May)

When 19-year-old Joe Killian's Iowa National Guard unit is deployed to Afghanistan in 2003, the budding journalist wants two things: to fight and to write about the war, dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom. Instead, he is dismayed to learn that his unit is on a dull reconstruction mission. Worse, he thinks "the whole place is worthless, its people, ignorant savages." Joe is billeted in a safe house immediately adjacent to 16-year-old Baheer's family home. The two young men meet when Baheer approaches Joe, hoping to practice his English. The language brings the two together, and they gradually become friends. As Joe comes to know Baheer better, he begins to change his opinion of the country and its people. The engaging story moves back and forth between Joe and Baheer, offering readers an intimate look at the Afghan people and their lives in a country perpetually at war. Coauthors Reedy and Arash are especially good at character development and setting. This book, with its dual perspectives, will be especially good for classroom use and discussion.

A dual-perspective narrative detailing the events of Operation Enduring Freedom through the eyes of an Afghan teen and a young American soldier. In the days leading up to 9/11, 16-year-old Baheer and his family lived in fear of the Taliban and their strict laws. Joe Killian, a high school senior and Iowa Army National Guard enlistee, is angered by the al-Qaida attacks and eager for revenge. So he is disappointed to learn that his unit is in fact tasked with the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, studious Baheer is optimistic as he approaches the U.S. soldiers in hopes of improving his English and bettering his country with these new allies. Their first encounter does not go well, but Baheer and Joe over time develop a friendship as they help each other learn and dismantle prejudices. Rather than attempting to be a sociopolitical history, this is an intensely personal story inspired by a real-life friendship: The authors, who met in the same way as the protagonists, blend their individual perspectives and ideologies into a cohesive narrative. Though there are some issues with pacing, the book overall does a solid job of showing the impact of their bond while acknowledging that others on both sides held differing views. The message of education as a vehicle for progress and dismantling hatred is one that will strike a chord with readers. A touching tale of understanding and friendship. (authors' notes) (Historical fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 9 Up--Set in the aftermath of 9/11, this story follows two young men from opposite ends of the earth whose lives have changed forever. Joe, a white U.S. Army soldier studying to be a journalist in his freshman year of college, is sent on his first tour to Afghanistan. Ready to take on the Taliban and seek vengeance on those who were responsible for 9/11, Joe comes to the realization that Afghanistan is not what he expected. Baheer, a teenage boy living in a war-torn Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban, is trying to live day by day. Given the choice between farm work or going to school, Baheer realizes quickly that the future he wishes for Afghanistan lies in learning. When Joe and Baheer's worlds collide, both are challenged in their beliefs, responsibilities, cultural differences, duties to their country, and their people. An unlikely relationship is formed and put to the test. Readers will find Baheer to be a genuine teenage boy whose struggles do not change him from doing what is right based on Islamic teachings he learns from his grandfather. Joe's growth is more apparent as he challenges himself to write the truth. VERDICT Loosely based on the authors' real-life experiences with each other, this is a story of friendship, hardship, acceptance, and courage.--Sara G. Ahmed, Upper Darby Township + Sellers Memorial Free Pub. Lib., PA