{"product_id":"the-pearl-that-broke-its-shell-9780062244765","title":"The Pearl That Broke Its Shell","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of \u003cem\u003ebacha posh\u003c\/em\u003e, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, and chaperone her older sisters.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt this unusual custom. A century earlier, her great-great grandmother, Shekiba, left orphaned by an epidemic, saved herself and built a new life the same way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCrisscrossing in time, \u003cem\u003eThe Pearl the Broke Its Shell\u003c\/em\u003e interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of marriageable age? Will Shekiba always live as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as a bride, how will she survive?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHashimi, Nadia:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eNadia Hashimi was born and raised in New York and New Jersey. Both her parents were born in Afghanistan and left in the early 1970s, before the Soviet invasion. In 2002, Nadia made her first trip to Afghanistan with her parents. She is a pediatrician and lives with her family in the Washington, DC, suburbs. She is the author of three books for adults, as well as the middle grade novels \u003cem\u003eOne \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eHalf from the East \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Sky at Our Feet. \u003c\/em\u003eVisit her online at www.nadiahashimi.com.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Morrow \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50635124146450,"sku":"9780062244765","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1cdf9e3e-5f34-4474-85fd-0ea028c5d4d1.jpg?v=1732834109","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-pearl-that-broke-its-shell-9780062244765","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}