Recommended Reading Path: Where to Start
For readers diving into the work of Atia Abawi, the best starting point depends on your age group and reading preferences. Because her bibliography consists of standalone novels and contributions to collaborative biography projects, there is no strict narrative continuity to follow. You can read her books in any order without missing key plot points.
If you are a young adult or adult reader looking for powerful, emotionally resonant contemporary fiction, you should start with her debut novel, The Secret Sky: A Novel of Forbidden Love in Afghanistan (2014). This book introduces readers to Abawi's signature style: combining intense journalistic realism with deeply human, empathetic characters. After that, move on to her second novel, A Land of Permanent Goodbyes (2018), which tackles the Syrian refugee crisis.
For younger readers (typically ages 6 to 9) or classrooms, the ideal starting point is her contribution to the popular children's biography series, She Persisted: Sally Ride (2021). This chapter book provides a highly accessible, inspiring look at the first American woman in space and is designed to be read independently of her mature young adult fiction.
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
If you prefer to read an author's work in the order it was written, you can follow her publication timeline. Seeing how Abawi transitioned from documenting the localized conflicts in Afghanistan to detailing the global migration routes of Syrian refugees shows her evolution as both a reporter and a storyteller.
- The Secret Sky: A Novel of Forbidden Love in Afghanistan (2014) – Abawi’s debut novel, exploring ethnic tensions, tradition, and forbidden love in rural Afghanistan.
- A Land of Permanent Goodbyes (2018) – A harrowing and hopeful narrative following a teenage boy’s escape from war-torn Syria to Europe.
Chronological Ordering and Narrative Caveats
There are no chronological ordering caveats for Atia Abawi's novels because they are entirely separate stories. The Secret Sky is set in modern-day rural Afghanistan and centers on the ethnic divide between the Hazara and Pashtun peoples. A Land of Permanent Goodbyes is set during the height of the Syrian civil war and the subsequent refugee migration crisis of the mid-2010s. The books do not share characters, settings, or narrative universes.
The only thematic continuity is the focus on real-world conflicts, the human cost of war, and the power of empathy. Readers can pick up either book first without worrying about spoilers or missed background details.
Deep Dive: The Standalone Novels
The Secret Sky (2014)
Set against the backdrop of rural Afghanistan, The Secret Sky is a story of forbidden love between Fatima, a Hazara girl, and Samiullah, a Pashtun boy. The Hazara and Pashtun tribes have a long history of tension, and cultural norms strictly forbid romantic relationships between them. Fatima and Samiullah's secret bond is discovered by Samiullah's cousin, Rashid, a young man who has been radicalized by extremists. Rashid's betrayal sparks a dangerous sequence of events, forcing the young lovers to fight for their lives and their future.
Abawi utilizes three alternating perspectives—Fatima, Samiullah, and Rashid—to give readers a multi-dimensional view of the conflict. By including Rashid's perspective, Abawi provides insight into how young people can be manipulated by extremist ideologies, making the novel a complex look at cultural pressures rather than a simple romance.
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes (2018)
In her second novel, Abawi shifts focus to the Syrian refugee crisis. The protagonist, Tareq, is a teenager living in Syria whose life is shattered when a government airstrike destroys his home and kills several family members. Left with only his father and his younger sister, Susan, Tareq must make the perilous journey out of Syria, through Daesh-controlled territory, into Turkey, and eventually across the Aegean Sea to Greece in search of safety.
A unique element of this book is its narrator: Destiny. Personified as an omniscient observer, Destiny frames Tareq's journey within the larger historical context of human migration, war, and survival. Along his journey, Tareq encounters 'hunters'—smugglers and opportunists who prey on the vulnerability of refugees—and 'helpers,' such as Alexia, a young volunteer from America working on the Greek shores. The novel serves as a call to action, encouraging readers to recognize the shared humanity of refugees worldwide.
The She Persisted Series and Collaborative Works
In addition to her standalone novels, Atia Abawi has contributed to collaborative publishing projects aimed at younger audiences. The most notable of these is her contribution to the She Persisted chapter book series. Originally launched by Chelsea Clinton and illustrator Alexandra Boiger as picture books, the brand expanded into a series of short chapter biographies written by various children's authors.
Abawi authored She Persisted: Sally Ride (2021), which details the life of the pioneering astronaut and physicist. The biography stands out for showing Sally Ride not just as an iconic historical figure, but as a determined, multi-faceted individual who faced systemic barriers in science and went on to establish programs that championed girls in STEM fields. While the publisher lists dozens of titles in the She Persisted collection—ranging from profiles of Harriet Tubman to Simone Biles—Abawi’s specific focus is on Sally Ride, and her book can be read completely independently of the rest of the series.
What to Know Before You Start
Before diving into Atia Abawi's work, readers should prepare for heavy themes. Because of her background as a foreign news correspondent for CNN and NBC News—during which she spent years reporting from Kabul, embedding with military forces, and covering humanitarian crises—Abawi writes with raw honesty. Her novels do not shy away from the violent realities of war, public executions, airstrikes, and the trauma of displacement.
However, her books are also deeply rooted in hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit. She frequently highlights the role of 'helpers'—ordinary individuals who risk their safety to aid others. For readers interested in her personal reflections on hope and journalism, she also contributed an essay to the YA anthology Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration (2018), which serves as an excellent companion read to her novels.