Ellis’s choice to focus her novel on the experience of Parvana and the children she meets along her journey highlights the ways in which Afghan children have been, and continue to be, affected by the war. The novel reveals that, although the children are not soldiers, the war directly affects them and places them in harm’s way. Parvana’s home, school, and friends are taken away, and she suffers the deaths of her father, baby brother, and “sister” Leila. Her life shatters because of the war, and although she is strong and brave, she will never be the same. Through her portrayal of children in the novel, Ellis highlights the way the war forces children to grow up too quickly and alters their identity.

At just 13 years old, Parvana shoulders the burden of traveling alone, finding food and water to survive, caring for a baby, and later being the leader for Leila and Asif, who are only slightly younger than her. These are challenges that most young teenagers do not face. By highlighting Parvana’s experience, Ellis shows the way war forces children to grow up too quickly. She ironically emphasizes Parvana’s youth when Parvana tells baby Hassan, “It must be nice to be young” (17).