Book Review: Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi

This was the first Adult Book I've read for a couple of months now, as I've been on my journey into YA fiction. Initially, this book didn't pull me in as others I had checked out at the time did, and I ended up returning it early. When Wendy, my coworker, told me it was a must-read, I immediately dove back in and was very glad I had.

Sparks Like Stars follows the story of Sitara, daughter of a higher-ranking government official in Afghanistan, 1978. When the military coup happens, Sitara is thrown into hiding by the family bodyguard-turned-traitor after watching her family be murdered in front of her eyes. Eventually landing with an American diplomat, Sitara secures her American-born sister Aryana's passport and makes her way to American soil.

Of course, it's not all that simple, as Aryana-Formerly-Known-As-Sitara navigates the American foster care system and its horrors. We are then thrust into the present, thirty-odd years after Aryana's escape from Afghanistan, as she navigates modern-day New York and the struggles that come with being a female Muslim surgeon in a post-9/11 world. The appearance of a figure from her past thrusts Aryana back to 1978, and with the help of a new friend, she travels back to her home country to get some answers on her family's murder.

This book was gorgeously written, full of prose and enough moments that made me pause my audiobook and think along the way. The metaphors were stunning, the writing absolutely gorgeous, and the plot flowed incredibly smoothly. This book should be on everyone's TBR list, and I'm shocked it hasn't been more popular than it is- it certainly deserves it. I will be recommending this book far and wide for the next few years.