Kabul, 1978: Communists stage a coup and assassinates everyone in the Capitol, including the President, his family, and top advisors. Among the dead are Sitara's mother, father, and brother. Sitara is smuggled out of the palace by a soldier, with no knowledge of what lies ahead.
New York City, 2008. Dr. Aryana Shepard opens the door to her next patient only to discover someone from her past. Someone toward whom she feels so much anger and resentment, yet she knows she would not be alive had it not been for his actions. This sparks Aryana to return to her home country of Afghanistan and face her past.

I don't even know how to express all of the emotions I feel after reading this book. It was SO FREAKING GOOD. This book opened and swallowed me whole. Once I began reading, I was immediately drawn to Sitara. I needed to know her story; I needed to know that she would be okay. Every character is so well developed and you can truly feel how much thought and passion the author put into her writing. But Sitara/Aryana holds a special place in my heart. It has been a very long time since I was so invested in a single character.

First of all, thanks Harper Collins for the ARC of the book.
Ten year old Sitara is living the privileged life pre-coup Kabal, the daughter of a government minister who taught her to love knowledge and taught her about the history of her beloved Afghanistan. On the night of the coup, Sitara witnesses her family's execution and is rescued by a guard who took part in the coup that devastated her life. She is eventually brought to the US by State Department worker Antonia Shepherd where Sitara becomes Aryanna, her dead sister who was born during her parent's stay in Oklahoma and later passed away before Sitara was born.
Fast forward 30 years and Aryanna lives in Queens, NY, a prominent surgeon haunted by her past. A chance meeting with a journalist at a book telling as well as someone from her past life in Kabul sets her on the path to find out where her parents and brother are buried so she can finally begin to let go of the past that has haunted her.

Hashimi has written another beautiful story about Afghanistan that introduces the reader to yet another almost unknown period of Afghan history--the Afghanistan of pre-Soviet invasion and the Taliban. My only complaint about the story is that at times I felt like Aryanna, especially as an adult, was hard to understand and get to know. This could have been by design because she was often closed from others around her because of the trauma she endured not only in Afghanistan but also her first few weeks in the US as a refugee and a minor. Either way, it was a great story that addressed so many issues, including survivor's guilt and how important it is that we allow ourselves to grieve the past and those we lost.

I highly recommend Nadia Hashimi's Sparks Like Stars, as it is such a well written story that quickly took hold of my attention and kept it throughout. It is the tale of Sitara Zamani and her life after becoming the only surviving family member after a tragedy hits them in Afghanistan. Sitara's harrowing journey after this event is a compelling one to read!

I don’t even know where to begin... well maybe with the fact this this subject was completely unknown to me and I feel so much more rounded now that I had exposure to this story.
The story of an Afghan girl who escaped a coup and was brave enough to start a new life with a new name with complete strangers... it just really pulled at your heartstrings.
Aryana was so brave. Her talisman, that she kept, and how she parted with it. Everything about this story was just fascinating.
I felt the Hashimi was very smart with making her able to understand Dari (I think) and English. It made this story even more believable.
And I loved the connections to the Romanovs.
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this story before pub day!

Historical fiction is my favorite genre, especially when I learn something about another country and people I am not familiar with, and Sparks Like Stars did not disappoint!

The book brought me face to face with the Saur Revolution, and an Afghanistan caught between the United States and Russia. Sitara is a carefree child, whose privileged family is close to the progressive president of Afghanistan, but everything changes when her family is assassinated during the Communist coup in April 1978.

Thirty years later, Sitara seeks to learn the truth of what happened to her family on that terrible night.

Thank you to Nadia Hashimi, Goodreads and William Morrow for the Advanced Reader Copy!

It is 1978, Kabul, when a young Sitara witnesses the murder of her family during the military coup.Sitara manages to escape, but is haunted by the events. Aided by an American embassy worker and her mother, Sitara leaves for America, but using the name of her sister, Ayana, who was born in the US when her parents lived there for two years. The story is one emphasizing the various forces of upheaval in Afghanistan, while bringing the story of this one woman into our hearts. I loved the book, and the bravery Sitara shows possible under the worst circumstances is hopeful. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC, which I highly recommend.

Growing up in and around the Afghan Palace in the 1970s, Aryana witnessed the Saur revolution and he family killed in front of her. After fleeing to America, she struggles with her past until it meets up with her.

Amazing story of an time that is not well known. Tears will be shed. Beautifully written.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC

Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi tells the story of a young woman who tragically loses her family as a child in Afghanistan. After being saved by two American woman, Sitara, now called Aryana, grows up to become a successful surgeon in New York. Despite growing up in a safe and loving home, her personal relationships have always been a struggle. She realizes she must come to terms with what happened to her as a child and finally say goodbye to her family if she ever wants to be truly happy.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book, as well as the characters. I could really feel the emotional turmoil that Aryana often found herself in throughout the book and I loved the relationship that developed between her and the mother that took her in. I did feel that the first half, which described what happened to her as a child, went on a little long, or maybe I just wished the story itself went on longer so I could learn more about her character as she moved on. I just definitely felt like the story picked up in the second half when we meet adult Aryana, and I then I couldn’t put it down. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of women’s fiction authors like Kristin Hannah. I would read other books by this author!

Thank you to William Marrow Marketing and The Book Club Girls for an ARC of Sparks Like Stars in exchange for an honest review.

It's no secret that I don't easily give out a 5 star review. I don't even easily give out 4 star reviews. But this book absolutely blew me out of the water and deserves 5 very bright stars. I loved this story from beginning to end. I was immediately taken by the story of Sitara, a young girl living in 1970's Afghanistan. At 10 years old, Sitara is faced with a major incident that would curtail her entire life. This is a story of finding oneself in the midst of tragedy and finding the courage to move on. This also opened my eyes to life to Afghanistan and we, as Americans, perceive to be "Third World" countries.

I was deeply moved by Sparks Like Stars. This story will stay with me for a long time. This is a must read!

A very well written book about events unfamiliar to me. I learned quite a bit about Afghanistan and the people, as well as the effect of life changing events on two different women. Both the horrors and beauty of humanity are depicted with skill. All of this and more are wrapped in this lovely story.

Since first reading The Pearl that Broke Its Shell in 2014, I have been a huge fan of Hashimi, an American author born to immigrant parents from Afghanistan. She always has a unique perspective, drilling down into the lives of women in Afghanistan. In her latest novel, she goes decades back, to the time of kings and the Cold War, as both America and Russia argue over this mountainous, ancient country. Sitara is a young girl whose father is an advisor to the king when a coup occurs. This one tragic event changes Sitara's life as well as her identity. Only when a chance encounter with a ghost from long ago enters her life decades later, does Sitara deal with the traumas of her past. I loved the history I gleaned, the tension created during the escape, and the strong women showcased. At times, the flowery life lessons at the end of chapters felt a bit forced, but they lessened as the story went on. My only"But" has to do with the main character; she is so closed emotionally (for good reason), yet I wanted to see more, know more, understand more about her, but perhaps this choice was quite intentional by the author, showing us how deep childhood trauma scars one forever.

I really enjoyed this book! The first part was a little slow for me, but needed for the second part to be so wonderful.

Sparks like Stars is the beautiful and heartbreaking story of an Afghan woman who survived the communist coup in Kabul in 1978, when she was 10 years old, and what she does with this trauma throughout her life. I don't really want to say more because the story unfolds in such a natural and unexpected way, I think it's well worth experiencing these surprises firsthand. I had to look it up because I could not believe it wasn't a true story.

This is the first book I have read by Nadia Hashimi but after following this emotional epic journey, I would really like to read her other books. She mentions on her Goodreads page that as the book's publishing date approaches, she will be posting about the research that went into writing this story. I really look forward to reading or hearing more about this, because the story was so detailed and heartfelt, it seemed like a memoir of someone who had actually lived this life. As heartbreaking as the story and the history it describes are, I loved reading and learning about the history of Afganistan and Kabul, the communist coup and what has happened in the country since then, from the perspective of someone who started their life there and moved on to live with its aftermath.

Thank you to NetGalley,William Morrow and Custom House for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, and for introducing me to such a lovely and talented new (to me) author!

4.5 stars out of 5

This book is a pleasure to read! It is a beautifully written, magical, almost mystical, novel with rich prose, like poetry.
The setting is Kabul, Afghanistan, in April 1978. The main character, Sitara, is the 10 year old daughter of President Daoud’s most trusted advisor. She enjoys the warmth of a close and loving family—father Boba, mother Madar, and younger brother Faheem. Her best friend and playmates are Daoud’s grandchildren, Neelab and Rostam. The reader is drawn to young Sitara’s intelligence and deep connections to her father, who teaches her that her country is known for its strong women. “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop (Rumi).”
This saying sets the tone for the entire story, as it follows Sitara’s survival of the Saur Rebellion, escape from Afghanistan, and ultimately her success in the United States as a respected oncologist surgeon.
As she narrates the story, Sitara (aka Aryana) experiences heartbreaking family tragedy and death, brushes with destructive forces in Afghanistan, and conflicted feelings about her adoptive family in the United States.
Throughout the novel, the reader feels the intensity of Sitara’s experiences and the deep resolve and strength of her persona. There are characters who betray Sitara, both politically and personally. As a once trusted guard says, “Our lives are like tangled chains hanging around a neck.” But there are also a number of supportive, smart, strong women who come and go in her life, as well as the women described in the accounts of her country’s history and culture.
The story spans 30 years and I do not want to give away even a hint of what transpires.
The narration is compelling and flows like a river with a strong, inexorable current to the conclusion.
I would recommend this book to lovers of beautiful lyrical writing, poetry, history, stars and constellations, strong women characters and books about family bonds. This book is powerful yet gentle, persistently evocative in its illumination of the beautiful Afghan culture, and an ode to the country’s “secret weapon….its women.”
This is the first novel I have read by Nadia Hashimi and I plan to seek out her previous three books so I can further indulge in reading her beautiful prose.
Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review.

Sparks Like Stars is such a beautiful and emotional book. I am ashamed to admit that I haven't read much about Afghanistan before the Soviet-Afghan War, but I've seen pictures that surprised me because of how Western and progressive everything looked compared to the images I have grown up seeing on the news in more recent years. Sitara was 10 years old in 1978 and she lived a life of privilege, calling the president "Uncle" because her father is his closest advisor and she's grown up being best friends with his daughter. Her world comes crashing down the night of the Saur Revolution when she is the only member of her family to make it out of the palace alive.

I thought the author did a wonderful job of setting the scene before the tragedy in Part 1, by showing the reader what Sitara's life was like and how special her relationships were with each of the people she would lose. Even after the story takes its violent and horrifying turn, Sitara's beautifully written memories of her life and the words of her loved ones are woven into the book to help her cope and survive the events that come after. In Part 2 we get to see the choices she has made and how they've shaped her into the person she has become, before a chance encounter forces her to confront her past.

I would definitely recommend Sparks Like Stars! Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the review copy!

Nadia Hashimi’s Sparks Like Stars tells the story of Sitara, a young girl who survives the 1978 communist coup at Arg, the Afghan presidential palace.

Exhibiting the author’s stunning use of words, the Prologue begins: “until now, my history has remained buried in me the way ancient civilizations are hidden beneath layers of earth and new life” and ends with “I am that girl, and this is my story.”

Sparks like Stars is divided into prologue, two main parts, each with multiple chapters, and an epilogue. After Hashimi prepares the reader for Sitara’s story through Sitara’s pondering of the past she has hidden for decades, Part I opens in April 1978 on an exciting evening as vehicle after vehicle arrives at the presidential palace of Afghan President Daoud. Because her boba (father) is the president’s chief advisor, he and his family often stay in the palace where Sitara plays with the president’s grandchildren, her best friend Neelab and Nelab’s older brother Rostam. Aside from being sent to bed on this exciting night as Russians and Americans arrive at the palace, the children live a happy life, nurtured by supportive parents and playing about the palace, indoors and outdoors, until the tragic night of April 2, 1978, when, from a safe spot, Sitara witnesses the shooting of her parents and little brother Faheem and hears gunfire reverberate throughout the palace.

As Part 2 opens in June 2008, Sitara is an oncologist living in the U.S., still narrating her story, filling readers in on her life since the coup. In many ways, her life might seem perfect but isn’t. The prologue has hinted at her buried secrets--information and experiences that Sitara, now known as Aryana Shepherd, cannot bring herself to share even with the most important people in her life. Eventually, a ghost from her past and her need to come to terms with other ghosts lead her back to her homeland.

What will she find? How will her findings in Kabul affect her future?

An advocate of education for Afghan children and rights for Afghan women, and a pediatrician turned novelist, Nadia Hashimi has previously written The Pearl That Broke Its Shell (2014), When the Moon Is Bright (2015), The House Without Windows (2016), and two middle-grade novels: One Half of the East (2016) and The Sky at Our Feet (2018). Her books have been translated into 17 languages.

Many thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow/HarperCollins, and Nadia Hashimi for an advance reader copy of this this beautifully written novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Nadia Hashimi has a way of crafting words together in a way that they flow easily off the page. I was mesmerized by Sitara, her family and their way of life. I felt as though I was in a familiar place thru the descriptions of Afghanistan. I have not been overly eager to read books set in Afghanistan in the past, but I cannot wait to get my hands on Hashimi's other works.

That being said, I felt a disconnect when transitioning from Part 1 to Part 2. I felt the foster care portion wasn't necessary and I had trouble with the age/time jump in Part 2.

"Sparks Like Stars" by Nadia Hashimi is a captivating story with characters that will stay with you. I found the book story and its locations of the story fascinating I would recommend the book to all.

‘Her father had once told her that the world lived within her. That her bones were made of mountains. That rivers coursed through her veins. That her heartbeat was the sound of a thousand pounding hooves. That her eyes glittered with the light of a starry sky. I am that girl, and this is my story’.

Though I enjoyed this overall, I did find it to be slower going than previous novels. I don’t feel like this story had the depth that her others have had. One of the reasons for this is that unlike in Hashimi’s previous novels Afghanistan is not her own character... she took a backseat. There were only glimpses of her. Hashimi is incredibly talented and the passion she has for Afghanistan and her people is what I’ve grown to love most about her writing. I just don’t think it was showcased as well in this. Still I will never pass up a chance to read her novels. 3.5 stars.

The strength of books that are part, if not all, historical fiction is often how well they span they ages and how well they depict the world of the past. On those counts, Sparks Like Stars deserves full credit. Though it moved too slowly for my adrenaline-junkie tastes, its pacing seemed appropriate for the story.