Tiny Dancer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

5 stars for the story, 3 stars for the writing style which I did not really like, as in some parts seems a novel, in others seems more like a medical journal.

Tiny dancer is the true story of Zubaida, a nine-year-old Afghan girl, who in July 2001 slipped while filling a kerosene heater and set herself on fire. Her burns were so severe, no one thought she'd live. But Zubaida survived, in a region without the most elementary medical assistance, and where a girl's life is very little worth.
Her father brought her all over the region, finally to the American army base in Kandahar, trying to get help. A Green Beret listened, and Zubaida was flown to a specialized burn center in America for a year of reconstructive surgeries.
Zubaida's culture shock is remarkable. For the first time, she was going to school, getting to make personal choices and spending time with children who had the luxury of imagining limitless futures. The medically complex procedures were successful; the social adjustments were difficult. With improved language skills, therapy and lots of love from her host family, Zubaida began to thrive. But then it was time to return to Afghanistan, where she felt like a model ship in a bottle-perfectly formed but going nowhere.

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