Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy

Reedy, Trent Words in the Dust, 286 pgs. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011. Language- G (2 swears no "f"); Sexual Content G; Violence- PG.  Life can be so hard, especially if you live in Afghanistan and your name is Zulaikha. She has a cleft lip, which she constantly gets teased for, a beautiful, older sister who she is always compared to, and a difficult stepmother who seems to hate her. Her real madar is gone, she was killed by the Taliban, the awful people her country used to be at war with. When the American soldiers come, everyone is frightened of them, but when they offer to fix her cleft lip for free and to help her, she can't believe that it's true! Could her life truly become better? This book makes you feel things. I felt sadness, loss, and defeat, but I also felt love, joy, and hope. I could not stop turning the pages, and when it was over, I went back and read it again. I recommend it to any person that enjoys a good story.  I loved it. EL, MS-ESSENTIAL. Student Reviewer: SE