At just 13 years old, Parvana has experienced more loss and trauma than most people endure in a lifetime. Influence from her mother and father has made Parvana into a responsible, caring, educated young woman with high moral standards. However, when she gets separated from her family and must mourn her father’s death alone, the war and her suffering begin to change her character. Parvana struggles to hold onto her identity amidst the monumental shifts the war brings to her life.

The war has forced Parvana to grow up too fast. As the oldest in the group of children, she must make decisions about where they will go and when they will stop to rest. This burden of leadership takes its toll on Parvana, and she grows tired of being the one who must remember things like boiling water to keep from getting sick. Because of the hardship she faces, Parvana begins to lose her sense of hope and belief. In a letter to Shauzia, she writes that she doesn’t believe in fairytales anymore after experiencing violence, death, and starvation with no hope in sight. The fact that Parvana dresses as a boy compounds her identity struggle.