Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Summary and Reviews of The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi

The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi

The Secret Sky

A Novel of Forbidden Love in Afghanistan

by Atia Abawi

  • Published:
  • Sep 2014, 304 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this book

Book Summary

Fatima is a Hazara girl, raised to be obedient and dutiful. Samiullah is a Pashtun boy raised to defend the traditions of his tribe. They were not meant to fall in love. But they do. And the story that follows shows both the beauty and the violence in current-day Afghanistan as Fatima and Samiullah fight their families, their cultures and the Taliban to stay together. Based on the people Atia Abawi met and the events she covered during her nearly five years in Afghanistan, this stunning novel is a must-read for anyone who has lived during America's War in Afghanistan.

Perfect for fans of Patricia McCormick, Linda Sue Park, and Khaled Hosseini, this story will stay with readers for a long time to come.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Disturbing depictions of physical, emotional, and sexual violence against women, men, and children, both within families and between different groups, contrast with extravagant acts of courage, kindness, and sacrifice....A suspenseful, enlightening, and hopeful love story." - Publishers Weekly

"Riveting plot, sympathetic characters and straightforward narration studded with vivid, authentic detail: a top choice." - Kirkus Reviews

"[The Secret Sky is] a tale of the indomitable Afghan spirit of hope and love. Among the many novels set in Afghanistan for young people or for adults, The Secret Sky stands alone. Unputdownable. Unforgettable." - Trent Reedy, author of Words in the Dust

"The Secret Sky brilliantly captures the magic and the heartbreak of Afghanistan as only someone rooted in its mystery can.... A must read for anyone who wants to understand the contradictions of the Afghan soul." - Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent and anchor of 'Andrea Mitchell Reports'

"A riveting tale written from the heart... This powerful love story will leave you angry at injustice, and awed by courage. It shocks and inspires." - Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent, BBC

"The Secret Sky is an amazing combination of utterly searing and beautifully romantic. It was like reading The Kite Runner - a gripping story that gave insight to this brutal yet magical culture." - Daphne Benedis-Grab, author of The Girl in the Wall

This information about The Secret Sky was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Atia Abawi Author Biography

Atia Abawi was born to Afghan parents in West Germany and was raised in the United States. She graduated from Virginia Tech and was awarded their Outstanding Alumna honor. After college, Abawi worked for CNN as a foreign news correspondent. She was stationed for almost five years in Kabul, Afghanistan, before moving to Jerusalem in 2013. She has won numerous awards for both her journalistic achievements and written, including The George Foster Peabody Award and The duPont-Columbia Awards.

Abawi's first book for teens was the powerful Secret Sky, about forbidden romance between different ethnic tribes.

Abawi currently lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Conor Powell, and their son, Arian, where she covers stories unfolding in the Middle East and the surrounding areas

... Full Biography
Link to Atia Abawi's Website

Name Pronunciation
Atia Abawi: uh-TEE-uh uh-BOW-ee

Other books by Atia Abawi at BookBrowse
  • A Land of Permanent Goodbyes jacket
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more literary fiction...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Never read a book through merely because you have begun it

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.