Words in the Dust - Softcover

Trent Reedy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847802710 ISBN 13: 9781847802712

Publisher: Frances Lincoln, 2011

Synopsis

Zulaikha hopes. She hopes for peace, now that the Taliban have been driven out of Afghanistan. She hopes for a better relationship with her hard stepmother. And she hopes one day even to go to school. Then she meets Meena, who offers to teach her the poetry she once taught her mother. And the Americans come to the village, promising not just new opportunities, but surgery to mend Zulaikha's face. But can Zulaikha dare to hope they will come true? Trent Reedy's breathtaking first novel is based on his experiences serving with the US Army in Afghanistan and, in a land where hidebound traditions clash with an emerging desire for freedom, offers humanity and hope.

About this title

About the Author

Trent Reedy grew up in Iowa and has always loved telling stories. He majored in English at the University of Iowa and paid for his course by joining the Iowa Army National Guard. Called up to serve in Afghanistan in 2004, he experienced bad feelings both about the war and leaving his wife and home. Then, after reading Katherine Paterson's novel Bridge to Terabithia he started thinking about writing for young people. One of the children he encountered in Afghanistan was a young girl named Zulaikha, who had suffered since birth from a cleft lip. A U.S. army doctor gave her corrective surgery, and Trent was inspired by Zulaikha's quiet courage and dignity. The last time he saw her, he promised that he would tell her story. Returning to Iowa in 2005, he taught English before taking a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing for children and young adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. He now lives with his wife and dog Wiggles in Washington State, where he is hard at work on his second book.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From Words in the Dust

Meena sighed. "Ah, Zulaikha, the beautiful princess. How you've grown."

"I'm only a girl." I covered my mouth with my filthy chador. "I'm not beautiful."

"Only a girl?" She reached toward me and gently pulled the shawl away from my face. "Nonsense. There's nothing 'only' about being a girl. You must give yourself time. 'Every triumph from patience springs, the happy herald of better things.'"

I had always thought those words were something my mother had shared only with me. How could Meena know them? "That's what my mother used to say."

"Yes." She smiled. "I know. It comes from Yusuf and Zulaikha. Your mother adored the poet Jami. And you. So you will forgive me, Zulaikha-jan, if I cannot accept that you are, as you say, 'only a girl.'"

About this edition

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1847802710
• ISBN 13: 9781847802712
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352