Giveaway - The Pearl That Broke Its Shell - Nadia Hashimi

I have an absolutely wonderful giveaway for you today.... The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi.

From the publisher, Harper Collins:

"Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See.

In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, and chaperone her older sisters.

But Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt this unusual custom. A century earlier, her great-great grandmother, Shekiba, left orphaned by an epidemic, saved herself and built a new life the same way.

Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl the Broke Its Shell interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of marriageable age? Will Shekiba always live as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as a bride, how will she survive?"

"Nadia Hashimi's parents left Afghanistan in the 1970s, before the Soviet invasion. In 2002, she made her first trip to Afghanistan with her parents who had not returned to their homeland since leaving in the 1970s. It was a bittersweet experience for everyone, finding relics of childhood homes and reuniting with loved ones. She lives with her family in suburban Washington, D.C., where she works as a pediatrician." You can find Nadia Hashimi on Facebook as well as on Twitter.

I have one copy to giveaway to a randomly chosen reader. Simply leave a comment (and a way to contact you) to be entered. And this one's international! Ends August 23/14.