With no man to go out to buy food, they face starvation. So Parvana must pretend to be a boy to save her family.

It is a dangerous plan, but their only chance. In fear, she goes out - and witnesses the horror of landmines, the brutality of the Taliban, and the desperation of a country trying to survive. But even in despair lies hope . . . Deborah Ellis has been to Afghan refugee camps and has listened to many stories like Parvana's.