'Diego had never been in the jungle before. He'd lived with his family high in the hills, and then he was a prison kid, a city kid. His nights were bare light bulbs burning, women and children crying, guards yelling and keys clanging. He hated it, but it was what he was used to . . .'

A simple error of judgement hurls Diego into a nightmare. He's been living in prison with his mother and sister, looking after them and earning money whenever he can. Until the day he accidentally breaks the rules. Suddenly the family are in trouble, and Diego needs money to save them.

So when one of his friends tells Diego that he knows a job that will make them both rich, Diego gives into temptation. But the job is far different from the one he'd imagined, and Diego soon finds himself in the heart of the Bolivian jungle and the clutches of men who produce drugs for a living . . .

[The Breadwinner]:

'deserves to become a bestseller.

a powerful and gruesome depiction of life under the Taliban regime, told honestly by children.

[Parvana's Journey]:

'A book all children should read

. . . a harrowing, true-to-life story . . . meticulously researched and sensitively written, but not for the faint-hearted.

a book all young teens should read . . . It is impossible not to be moved

A moving story, with a deeply satisfying ending, the novel convincingly portrays the story of the real children behind the headlines about landmines and refugee camps.