Review by Booklist Review
In the country that the United Nations considers the worst place on Earth to be born a woman, Adiba has dreams that are at odds with Afghanistan's rigid and patriarchal society. She writes that as she was growing up in Kabul, "the threat of the Taliban had always been in the background." As she completed this book, she found out that they were back in power. In this lively and compelling memoir, Adiba relates how she acquired a musical education at ANIN, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and at age 18 became the lead violist, co-conductor, and spokesperson for Zohra, Afghanistan's first all-female orchestra. She didn't stop there and continued to pursue her goals, despite obstacles like familial objections and financial hardship. Currently she studies International Politics at the American University of Central Asia and Bard College. Adiba writes with feeling and genuine pride in herself and her Afghan cultural heritage, and will touch the heart of anyone spending time in her company.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Adiba's extraordinary memoir as a young woman growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan, is as powerful as it is relatable, even to young Western women fighting for their own place in the world. Adiba tells the story, with the help of Chaon, of how she became a conductor for the first all-women orchestra in Afghanistan. That journey was inspired in part by her overwhelming desire to meet her role model, Michelle Obama, as well as the trials and tribulations she faced in wanting to pursue her dream of going to the United States to study at Harvard. Throughout the memoir, Adiba passionately supports education for all girls, which runs counter to the ultra-conservative restrictions that govern women in Afghanistan, due in part to the occupation by the Taliban. Her unpretentious, earnest style as she recounts her life story with a matter-of-fact tone is as endearing as it is engaging. VERDICT A must-have for any collection, especially in school and academic libraries. This memoir celebrates the power of one young woman to make a difference by speaking up and daring to be herself.--Amy Shaw
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An Afghan violist and law student tells the story of how music helped liberate her from the constraints imposed on women by her traditional culture. Music had always been Adiba's salvation. A love of singing cultivated in childhood developed into teenage fantasies of pop stardom that helped her escape a chaotic and oppressive family life. With help from her secretly rebellious mother and against the odds, she enrolled at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music after undergoing three months of intensive study of "music theory, rhythm and time, Chopin, Beethoven." A member of the persecuted Hazara Shiite minority, Adiba thrived in the uniquely egalitarian and coeducational atmosphere and soon made plans to learn viola and join Zohra, the school's all-girls orchestra. Despite her successes--international music tours, study trips to Turkey and the U.S.--family and social dysfunction upended her victories. Although music went against the teachings of conservative Islam, Adiba's mother supported her daughter's activities by lying to male family members; however, she also used the daughter she loved--who helped support the family with a school stipend--as a "punching bag," criticizing her for not being more respectful of traditions (like forced early marriage) that had kept her out of school and at the mercy of Islamic fundamentalism. Feeling pressured by her third husband's family, Adiba's mother demanded that she leave home on more than one occasion; yet each time--and determined to find her own path--the author held fast to her dreams of an education and a space to express her creativity. As she follows her struggles in search of freedom, the author reveals the deep and tragic cultural losses that accrue when patriarchy oppresses women. Adiba is now the co-conductor of Zohra. An often wrenching but ultimately hopeful and inspiring memoir of determination. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
