The Other Side of the Sky

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Prologue–Chapter 3

Reading Check

1. In what city does Ahmedi ride the amusement park ride the “Gondola” in Chapter 1?

2. What happens at the peak of the Gondola ride, which triggers Ahmedi’s flashback of stepping on a landmine?

3. Ahmedi’s family was originally from a small village in Afghanistan, located 92 miles southwest of what major city?

4. Ahmedi’s father’s tailor business received shipments from abroad and sold the garments that were still in good condition. Most of these used garments came from what European country?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who is Alyce Litz and what role did she have in Ahmedi’s writing of The Other Side of the Sky, as described by Ahmedi in the Prologue?

2. In Chapter 1, Ahmedi explains that she does not always consciously remember that her leg is missing. What is an example of this?

3. In describing her family history, Ahmedi tells the story of how her grandfather bartered the family land away for a loan, leaving the family landless and very poor. How was Ahmedi’s father, Ghulam Hussein, able to get the land back?

4. Despite growing up during a time when war raged in between the mujahideen and the Soviets, Ahmedi describes her childhood as happy. Why does she have a happy childhood?

Paired Resource

“The Story of Farah’s Life”

• In this 5-minute audio clip, WNYC interviews Ahmedi after winning the ABC-TV Good Morning America contest called “The Story of My Life.”
• Ahmedi explains how she had to be especially resourceful as a refugee fleeing war-torn Afghanistan and how her education in Germany helped her realize that it was a route to greater freedom.
• This resource relates to the themes The Vulnerability and Resourcefulness of Refugees and Education Opens Up the Whole World.
• What struck you most about this clip, in hearing Ahmedi explain her story to an interviewer? Do you think having interviews like this might have been difficult for her?

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. At what age did Ahmedi begin school in Kabul?

2. Ahmedi’s doctor in Afghanistan reassures her that the Germans will fix her up like new, and that she’ll return to Afghanistan wearing what type of shoes?

3. Ahmedi was all alone in the German hospital, devastated after the amputation of her leg. Who befriends her at this time?

4. How long did Ahmedi stay in Germany, recovering after her surgery?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does a “bad rocket day” refer to? What does this say about the nature of Ahmedi’s childhood? 

2. In the hours before Ahmedi’s life was changed by stepping on a landmine, she was having a routine, normal day. What was she doing just before she stepped on a landmine?

3. Soon after arriving at the German hospital, Ahmedi contrasts how the staff there removes her bandages versus how Afghan hospital workers did. How do these experiences differ? What does it illustrate about differences between Germany and Afghanistan?

4. When Ahmedi returned to Afghanistan from Germany, she felt separate from her old life. How did this alienation manifest itself? Cite 2 or more examples from Chapter 7.

Paired Resource

“Clearing Afghanistan’s Landmines One Careful Step at a Time”

• This Voice of America article from 2021 describes recent efforts to remove the many landmines that have been planted by the Taliban and other forces warring in the area.
• The article cites a statistic by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) that estimates that 41,000 Afghan civilians have been killed or wounded by landmines since 1988.
• This article serves as a reminder that Afghan refugees have experienced some of the most extreme and difficult living conditions.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Vulnerability and Resourcefulness of Refugees.
• How do you think Ahmedi would respond to the most recent efforts to clear landmines in Afghanistan? Do you think she would be surprised that—even nearly 20 years since she stepped on a landmine—this is still a problem?

Chapters 8-11

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 8, Ahmedi’s father and sisters are tragically killed when a rocket strikes their home. Where are Ahmedi and her mother when this event occurs?

2. Where do Ahmedi and her mother live, after their home is destroyed by a rocket?

3. On the train to Quetta, the men aboard the train are dressed in a certain way that sets Ahmedi and her mother on edge. Why?

4. Ahmedi and her mother cannot pay rent, but they arrange to live with a well-to-do merchant family in Quetta in exchange for what?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When the Taliban takes over Kabul from the mujahideen in Chapter 8, how does this affect Ahmedi’s and her mother’s day-to-day lives?

2. What are some of the obstacles Ahmedi and her mother face in their journey from Afghanistan to Pakistan?

3. What is life like for Ahmedi and her mother in the United Nations refugee camp just outside of Quetta?

4. In Chapter 11, Ahmedi has an awakening while standing in the courtyard in Quetta, looking at the stars in the night sky. What happens in this moment? In your response, describe how Ahmedi’s change in terms of her character arc.

Paired Resource

“The Taliban, Explained”

• In this 14-minute video, Vox provides an overview of the Taliban’s movement, which begins in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
• The Taliban’s influence on Afghan culture and their role in the creation of the refugee crisis is undeniable.
• This relates to the theme A Woman’s Place in the World and The Vulnerability and Resourcefulness of Refugees.
• Why do you think Ahmedi avoids going into depth about the political/historical origins of the Taliban in The Other Side of the Sky? How does it serve the overall narrative? Does anything in this video give you a new/different perspective on Ahmedi’s story?

Chapters 12-15

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 12, Ahmedi applies to what Christian organization for aid to help secure their transportation to America?

2. What is the primary reason why Ahmedi and her mother are selected by the Christian organization to be helped to immigrate to America?

3. When Ahmedi and her mother land in America, they’re brought to what state?

4. In Chapter 14, what triggered a coma in Ahmedi’s mother?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why do Ahmedi and her mother have to travel from Quetta to Islamabad before immigrating to America? What are the issues for them in travelling from Quetta?

2. There are many aspects about the situation in Chapter 13 that show a cruel irony in what it takes for Ahmedi to secure safe asylum in America. What are at least 2 of these?

3. In Chapter 15, when Ahmedi first arrives in America, she is burdened with many responsibilities that are unusual for a 14-year-old girl. What are some of those responsibilities?

Paired Resource

“Afghan Refugees Face Massive Bureaucratic Hurdles Coming to US”

• PBS News talks to NGO employees, lawmakers, and refugees themselves about the hurdles that Afghans face when resettling in America, in the immediate aftermath of when US forces were pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021.
• Like Ahmedi, Afghan refugees in 2021 had to show great fortitude and resourcefulness, as a vulnerable population seeking asylum in the US.
• This resource deals with the themes of The Vulnerability and Resourcefulness of Refugees and Culture Clash and the Immigrant Experience.
• What are the differences—if any—in Ahmedi’s experience in navigating bureaucracy nearly 20 years before the US retreated from Afghanistan and what it is like for Afghan immigrants today?

Chapters 16-20

Reading Check

1. Alyce and her husband John provide Ahmedi with many household items and other basic necessities that she cannot afford. What is one example?

2. Ahmedi had never learned to read and write in Farsi, much less English. When she enters high school in the US, what is Ahmedi’s level of formal math education?

3. Once Ahmedi secured her driver’s license, who gives her a car?

4. In Chapter 19, one of Ahmedi’s classmates in her international club denigrates Ahmedi for what reason?

5. What career does Ahmedi dream of?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Alyce plays a vital role in Ahmedi’s life, beyond simply providing her with material goods. How does Alyce’s friendship improve Ahmedi’s life?

2. Ahmedi’s journey learning to drive brings her greater independence. What are some of the obstacles Ahmedi encounters learning to drive?

Recommended Next Reads 

Come Back to Afghanistan: My Journey from California to Kabul by Said Hyder Akbar and Susan Burton

• This memoir tells the story of Said Hyder Akbar, an American teenager who belongs to a prominent political family in Afghanistan. After September 11 turns Hyder and his family’s life upside down, Hyder’s father leaves suburban California for Afghanistan to return to political life in Afghanistan and—despite never having visited the country—Hyder decides to join him.
• Though Hyder makes the opposite migration as Ahmedi (from the US to Afghanistan), he still experiences Culture Clash and the Immigrant Experience.
• Like Ahmedi, Hyder struggles to find his identity and place within Afghan culture.
• Come Back to Afghanistan on SuperSummary.com.

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: The Journey of Doaa Al Zamel—One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming

• In this memoir, 19-year-old Doaa Al Zamel tells the story of how, in 2011, she fled her war-ravaged home in Syria by boarding a rickety fishing vessel with 500 other refugees. When the ship is struck and begins to sink, Al Zamel uses a small inflatable ring to keep her afloat with two toddlers.
• This resource relates to the themes of The Vulnerability and Resourcefulness of Refugees and Placing Faith in God’s Hands.
• A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea on SuperSummary.com