The Kite Runner is truly an eye opening book. I, myself, am not normally the person that cries when reading a book but I will admit It, I did shed a couple of tears. I could not put the book down and read about a hundred pages every time I sat down to read. This book is about friendship, love, forgiveness, heartbreak, betrayal, and the importance of honesty.

This book takes place in the 1970s up through to 2000s in Kabul Afghanistan. The Kite Runner revolves around an Pashtun boy named Amir and his very close friend and servant, Hassan. These boys could not separate, where one went the other was not far behind. The boys grew up together until they had to part and go their separate ways. In their time together certain things occurred that may never be forgiven, but will always give them a reason to remember each other.


When you start to read this book, you have no idea what mature subjects will show up. The Kite Runner shows real life situations that the more fortunate have never even imagined, but now know are present in the world. I recall the saying,” You don't know what you have until its gone.” It took Amir almost his whole life just to see that. Friendship is friendship but Amir and Hassan had so much more than that; they had an inseparable bond between them that was hit, but not broken, a consequence of trying to make each other happy. This unfortunately ended in betrayal. After that Amir ends up traveling half way around the world until he feels forgiven enough to move on with is life, but still he takes with him a sliver of guilt that will always be inside the pit of his stomach.

I can honestly say this book, The Kite Runner had me in an emotional state of confusion and sadness. I went days just thinking about the book, the events, the unsaid words, the action taken, and the lives that were not spared. I also applied this book to my own life, and asked myself, “Have I made such a mistake that will change my life forever?”

This is not a book for those with easily broken hearts. This book is for a person that can take very difficult situations and isn't afraid to cry. The Kite Runner is a must-read book. Some of the material may be hard for younger teens to comprehend so I strongly recommend this book for mature teens and adults.