My Novel

Right now I am working on writing a novel. It’s about a family whose dad is fighting in Afghanistan. Sadly, he dies from a roadside bomb, and the family is left with nothing but their memories. The mother is having trouble moving on with her life, and the little sister (Lily or Daisy) is falling apart. Can the main character (thinking about maybe calling her Sophie, Sophia, or Ashley) put her family back together?

I've spent a lot of time thinking about my main character and I have decided a few things about her. First of all, she loves to write, just like her dad did. She loves poetry, and likes to write it too. When he dies, she writes poems and stories for him. She is in Grade 8, and is 13. Her little sister is very delicate and fragile. Whenever I think of her, I think of Prim, from The Hunger Games, because they have a very similar attitude. Remember, these thoughts of mine are not final, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to just post them in a comment.

To do some further research on good ways to write novels, I interviewed a lady named Mrs. Mills, who is a published author. If the name sounds familiar to you, it's because she is a parent of two kids that go or went to this school. One, Elspeth Mills, has graduated and, is now in university, and the other one, Tristan Mills, is in grade 8. I learned a lot of things about the process of writing a novel from Mrs. Mills. Stay tuned for my next blog to learn about our talk!

In a Burka

Invisible. Trying to be invisible. Walking through the street, covered from head to toe with her burqa, trying not to make any noise. She is hot and can hardly breathe through the suffocating cloth wrapped around her face. Her feet are bleeding, and are covered with blisters. Her sandals are too small, and are cutting into her every step. She knows she's supposed to have a man with her, but her husband was killed in a bombing about a month ago, and she desperately needs food.

If I ever had to wear a burqa like the women in Afghanistan and live under the terrible and punishing laws that they have had to, I would definitely want to move, to escape. I would never be able to cope with not being allowed to walk around outside, in my own community, without being with a man, and wearing a burqa. I love to run, be active and independent, and just breathe in the fresh clean air. I love to spend time outside, enjoying nature. If I were in Afghanistan, I wouldn't even be able to walk into a store and buy something. I would always have to live under the rules of the Taliban, and would never be independent. I wouldn't even be allowed to go to school! Right now, the women in Afghanistan have no future. They have no right to an education or a job. I really admire the women that have fought against the Taliban and organized education for their daughters, stood up to the Taliban in the street, and worked together to have their future be a free one. They are so brave.

Having to wear a burqa would really change my life. It is very easy for those of us living in Canada to take our freedoms for granted. We have never had to live without them, but reading The Breadwinner has given me a chance to feel what it could be like. It has made me realize how very lucky I am to live in a free and democratic country. I will fight to keep Canada this way and I hope all of you will too.