In Kabul, 15-year-old Damsa runs away to avoid being forced into marriage by her family. She is found by a police officer named Shauzia, who takes her to Green Valley, a shelter and school for women and girls run by Parvana.

It has been 20 years since Parvana and Shauzia had to disguise themselves as boys to support themselves and their families. But when the Taliban were defeated in 2001, it looked as if Afghans could finally rebuild their country. Many things have changed for Parvana since then. She has married Asif, who she met in the desert as she searched for her family when she was a child. She runs a school for girls. She has a son, Rafi, who is about to fly to New York, where he will train to become a dancer.

But Shauzia is still Parvana's best friend. And Parvana is still headstrong, bringing her in conflict with her spoiled sister Maryam.

While Asif tries to get Maryam and Rafi on one of the last flights out of Kabul, the Taliban come to the school, and Parvana must lead the girls out of Green Valley and into the mountains.

All royalties will be donated to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. (From Groundwood Books)

Deborah Ellis is a Canadian writer of children's books, including The Breadwinner. The award-winning book tells the story of Parvana, an 11-year-old living in war-torn Kabul, who must pretend to be a boy after her father is sent to prison so she can earn money for her family. The Breadwinner was praised by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film produced by Angelina Jolie. In 2000, Ellis' adventure novel Looking for X won the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text. Her other books include the children's short story collection Sit and nonfiction book Kids of Kabul. She is a member of the Order of Canada.