An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, takes readers from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, "The Kite Runner" is an unusual and powerful debut.

As letters flow back and forth--between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of Afghanistan, across cultural and religious divides--sixth-grader Abby, ten-year-old Amira, and eleven-year-old Sadeed begin to speak and listen to each other.

Teenager Aman and his mother lose their loyal spaniel Shadow while escaping Afghanistan to flee to England. Now they must depend on a friend and his grandfather to enable Shadow's return.

"Kabul, 1978: The daughter of a prominent family, Sitara Zalmani lives a privileged life in Afghanistan's thriving cosmopolitan capital. The 1970s are a time of remarkable promise under the leadership of people like Sardar Daoud, Afghanistan's progressive president, and Sitara's beloved father, his right-hand man. But the ten-year-old Sitara's world is shattered when communists stage a coup, assassinating the president and Sitara's entire family....

A "novel set in Afghanistan about two women--an American aid worker and her local interpreter--who form an unexpected friendship despite their utterly different life experiences and the ever-increasing violence that surrounds them in Kabul"--

Chaos reigns in the wake of the collapse of Afghanistan's Soviet-backed government. In the rural, warlord-ruled south, a student is badly beaten at a checkpoint run by bandits. His mullah, who leads a madrassa for orphans left behind by Afghanistan's civil war, leads his students back to the checkpoint and forces the bandits out. His actions set in motion a chain of events that will change the balance of power in his country and send shock waves through...

Adam Hayes promised his wife that he won't put his life on the line any more, and there's nothing that will make him break a promise to his wife. Well, almost nothing. Ten years ago Abdul Nassir saved Hayes's life, and the time has come for repayment. Nassir is the only eyewitness to a massacre committed by a rouge team of CIA contractors. He can identify the butcher who directed the bloodbath-- and has photographic proof. With America withdrawing...

"Baheer, an Afghan teen, sees his family's life turned upside down when they lose their livelihood as war rocks the country. A world away, Joe, a young American private in the Army National Guard, must put aside his dreams of becoming a journalist when he's shipped out to Afghanistan. When Joe's unit arrives in Baheer's town, Baheer is wary of the Americans, but sees an opportunity: Not only can he practice his English with soldiers, but his family...

"A spine-tingling and boldly original gothic horror novel. It's 2010, and the recently promoted Corporal Loyette and his unit are finishing up their deployment at a new base in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Their duties here are straightforward--loading and unloading cargo into and out of helicopters--and their days are a mix of boredom and dread. The Brits they're replacing delight in telling them the history of the old barracks just off base, a Soviet-era...