26.
The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini
Because Khaled Hosseini took us
deep into Afghanistan and brought us back forever changed.
A successful Afghan-American novelist named Amir returns
to his homeland to right a wrong he committed in
childhood by betraying a friend. That friend and his wife have been murdered by
the Taliban, and Amir sets himself the task of saving their son. Hosseini
weaves together a complex family story while at the same time painting an
indelible picture of the war-torn country.
— Dawn Raffel