Students were segregated by gender lines, women's rights receded faster than the polar ice caps, and family members were executed simply because they were suspected to be spies. Marjane Satrapi grew up in Iran just as things started getting bad. Many of them don't want to wear head-to-toe religious garments any more than you'd want to wear jean shorts in December. (Who knows, maybe the Death Star is just misunderstood, too… ) Iran's citizens are people of the world just like us and, just like us, they want to listen to music, hang out with friends, and party. Unlike the Death Star, Iran isn't actually evil-the people who run the country are. Unfortunately, we live in a world (especially post-9/11) that considers Iran and Iranians in general to be "the bad guys." Reading what it's like to grow up in Iran is like reading what it's like to grow up as a young stormtrooper on the Death Star. It tells a first-hand account of what it was like to be raised in Iran. And we're still waiting for a book on Gargamel to tell us why the guy hates Smurfs so much. Grendel tells us Beowulf's nemesis's side of things. Wickedtells us the story of the Wicked Witch of the West. Books often explore stories from the other side.
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