Parvana (Saara Chaudry) understands the dire circumstances her father’s arrest forces upon her family, and recognizes the danger of hiding in plain sight to feed them. Need outweighs risk.

Though Parvana understands and reads English fluently, she refuses to speak ("She knew she could not trust them. All she could trust was herself"), silently enduring sleep deprivation and harsh ...

Parvana's brother was killed years earlier by a land mine explosion and, for much of the story, her father is imprisoned, leaving only her mother, older sister and two very young siblings.

Parvana, front right, and her family in "The Breadwinner" (Provided photo) Parvana is a girl filled with curiosity and who never wants to be quiet and graceful like her sister.

But Parvana, the 11-year-old heroine of “The Breadwinner,” is not one to submit to despair, or to the iron fists of violent men drunk on power.

Parvana then makes a drastic decision: She cuts off her hair, wears her dead brother’s clothes and goes outside as a boy to earn money for the family. Parvana soon learns that the world opens to ...