For You, a Thousand Times Over—A Review of the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

"'For you, a thousand times over,' I heard myself say. Then I turned and ran. It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight. But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting. I ran."

I never thought I would love this book so much. Initially, I was just mad that we had to read this book, because I really wanted to read one of my favorite books that all the other classes were reading, the Book Thief. But my class started the Kite Runner while I was away at a HOSA competition. When I came back, I had a lot to catch up on, so I just bought the book on my Nook. I started reading it one night over Spring Break.

I didn't stop reading it for five hours. And about three hours in was when the tears started.

I'm not going to lie. I cried reading this book. And I don't mean a quick sniffle. I mean I had a steady stream of tears—the nasty kind—going down my face for the last one hundred fifty pages of the book. I don't regret reading it for one second, however. In fact, it's one of the best stand alone novels I've ever read.

The story centers around two kids named Amir and Hassan, who are friends but seperated by their castes in Afghanistan—Amir is a wealthy Pashtun and Hassan is his Hazara servant. A horrible event ends up ruining Hassan's life, and Amir, who feels as he is to blame, doesn't know what to do but to get rid of Hassan so he won't have to see him anymore. When the Russians invade Afghanistan, Amir and his father seek asylum in California. Many years later, when Amir is thirty and married and a successful author, a serendipitous secret comes to light, forcing Amir to travel back to the land of his childhood, filled with the secrets he hoped to forget, and now ruled by the Taliban.

My favorite quote from the book came from the last page, and I don't really want to spoil it for you, but it was the quote from above (luckily, it doesn't really use names, so there aren't that many spoilers). Once you've read the book, you'll understand the importance of those words Amir says. The best part is the parallel between this quote and the one from the beginning of the book. I know that sounds pretty ambiguous, but that's all I can say. Every time I read that quote, a tear comes to my eye, and that should be proof enough of how important it is.

“I'm so afraid. Because I'm so profoundly happy. Happiness like this is frightening...They only let you this happy if they're preparing to take something from you," is another quote that I was actually really able to connect to. When so much that is good is happening, one cannot help but believe that tragedy is inevitable. This is especially true for Amir in the novel. Many good things happen to this kid, but about halfway through the book is when everything starts to go bad, as if every good thing that ever happened must be countered by something terrible. And when you think he's reached his lowest, trust me: he hasn't.

So read the book. Dive into it, don't think about the fact that it's a required read in most schools; that'll make you unconsciously hate it. Go into it with an open mind, and be prepared for some amazing plot twists. Also, have a box of tissues ready. You'll need them.