In a book club and starting to plan your reads for next year? Check out our 2025 picks.

What readers think of The Kite Runner, plus links to write your own review.

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Jun 1, 2003, 368 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Apr 2004, 384 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Reviews

Page 3 of 10
There are currently 77 reader reviews for The Kite Runner
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

Brittany Waterman

School Review.
I rate this book a 5 because I felt The Kite Runner was one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read.

It made me really accept and appreciate my life in America. It taught me a lot about what life is like in Afghanistan and how bad war can really tear a country apart. It doesn’t lack the truth and brutality of how war can really be when it goes deep into the details of the appearance of Kabul’s streets after the Taliban had gone through.

It not only showed struggles, but struggles being overcome and I thought that was really neat. Reading about the struggles made me feel like I was there and going through the same thing. I almost wanted to jump in and help the characters through what they were going through.

This novel included a lot of suspense that kept you wanting more. I had to read this novel for school and let me tell you, I could not put it down. The suspense from chapter to chapter kept me on my feet.

I would recommend this book for every high school literature class. It covers many topics such as: Friendship, Love, Loyalty, History, Relationships, and many more topics. I think high school students could relate to those topics in many ways. It gains a lot of respect in my book.
Ashley Schroeder

This is a wonderful book!
This book is a wonderful book about friendship, deception, fear and redemption. This book was recommended to me by many people and once people found out I was reading it for school people were all over asking me how I liked it and just talking about how great it was. For all those negative reviews I don’t really understand them this book is not a historical or political review on Afghanistan but a book of fiction. If you want to read a good book this one is sure to be a winner. And I’m sure you will enjoy it as much as my class and I did!
desiray

woot woot
I immensely enjoyed the book the kite runner. The characters and plot portrayed a quality only found in a book as emotional and trying as this one. As we witnessed every event in Amir’s life we felt what he felt. Every feeling and emotion that was his was ours. Even though the book was about Amir my favorite character was Baba. Even though he made mistakes he tried his best to do well and learn from his mistakes and that’s really what life’s all about. I gave it a five because it was book that made me think about every aspect of Amir’s life and character. The protagonist was not always the good guy, which made the book seems incredibly Life-like because nobody's perfect. The only detail concerning this book that I don’t think I liked was the flash backs they often confused me and made me wonder why they were there, But that shouldn’t hold you back from reading this book. I’m in high school and we read this for our popular Fiction class. I believe it not only to be a good book for high school students but one that they would enjoy, I know I did
Jennifer

Extraordinary, Deep Read
My favorite way to get to know other cultures is through fiction written about regular people from their authors. I have been wanting to learn more about people from the Middle-East, as I don't want to be guilty of the de-humanization that so many of my fellow Americans are.

This book was excellent for that, and excellent in general. I learned a lot about sons and fathers, about middle-eastern people and how the things which are important to them are, of course, no different than what is important to my family, and about some of the everyday life experiences and decisions faced by people of different societal levels in Afghanistan.

The story itself, the pain and beauty and friendship and love between the fathers and sons, is so moving that I spent time laughing and crying, and have put this on my "read-on-a-regular-basis" list. I also think this should be a required book for all high school students, as it covers such a range of important subjects (family, friendship, guilt, forgiveness, deep love).
Hosnia A

Totally Amazing
If you haven't read the book I would say go now and get it I finished it in one day. It's a novel that you can't let go you have to finish the book to understand the meaning of life. Specially if your Afghan-American you know most of his saying and what he goes thought. Dr. Hosseini the way he has word everything is great easy book to understand and great novel. I can't wait till I read his new book.
Muff

a great read
This has to be one of the best-- if not the best-- books I have ever read. Once I picked it up, it was hard to put down until I was either too tired to hold my eyes open or had finished it. It was simply written but made me think. I cannot wait to read his next book!
rini aich

a book that connects
a brilliant book that entices each and every emotion in your heart.. a book that will remain etched in your memory for a very very long time and will have a lasting impact.. a book that gets the reader involved and intoxicates him or her.

You can read this book over and over again and still find new meanings and dimensions to the story. a heartwrentching story, effective imagery, silken style of writing..a lot more..all rolled into one. a book that u wont like to put down. a book that leads you on to do some soul searching.
devikaa kaushal

a must read
Kite Runner is a beautifully written book. its a devastating, masterful, painful, honest story. Hosseini's description of Amir's relationship with Hassan is beautifully nuanced, and the moment of Amir's ultimate betrayal is genuinely shocking. It is a passionate story.

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: The Barn
    The Barn
    by Wright Thompson
    The barn doesn't reek of catastrophe at first glance. It is on the southwest quarter of Section 2, ...
  • Book Jacket
    Tell Me Everything
    by Erika Krouse
    In her memoir Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation, Erika Krouse becomes ...
  • Book Jacket: The Schubert Treatment
    The Schubert Treatment
    by Claire Oppert
    Claire Oppert fell in love with music at an early age and trained to make a career as a classical ...
  • Book Jacket
    Murder by Degrees
    by Ritu Mukerji
    Lydia Weston is among the first wave of female physicians and professors in the United States. ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Libby Lost and Found
    by Stephanie Booth

    Libby Lost and Found is a book for people who don't know who they are without the books they love.

Who Said...

When men are not regretting that life is so short, they are doing something to kill time.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

H I O the G

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.