The beginning of this story is interesting as it begins in Karachi 1988, we learn about the close friendship between two girls - Maryam and Zahra - despite their differences. As the book carries on we see how their friendship progresses as the world evolves around them, and how the two develop in themselves to become strong female characters. There was definitely a young adult vibe to this section of the plot and I felt more interested in looking in to the country's history due to the elections coming up to Bhutto. I generally enjoy Shamsie's style of writing and the way she shows reflection and builds tension within the book. The pace was good but despite a good start, I did expect this book to be a lot better than it was but it did begin to go downhill. It becomes less interesting when the characters are in London in comparison to Pakistan and the ending was disappointing.