This is an eye-opening account of girls defying Afghanistan’s rigid gender expectations - at the insistence of their families, and with tacit community consent, these girls grow up living as boys. This may sound like a revolutionary movement, but in fact, these children have existed throughout Afghan history, as a response to a system that necessitates having at least one son. But what happens when these sons grow up, and turn back into women in time to be married? And if the Taliban regains control of the country, how will these children and their families fare? Nordberg write humbly; she simply steps back and lets her subjects tell their stories of seeking freedom from and through gender. It's riveting.