Parvana is a 13-year-old girl traveling across war-torn Afghanistan in search of her displaced family. To protect herself from the Taliban, she cuts her hair short and disguises herself as a boy named Kaseem. She shoulders immense responsibilities for a child, using the survival skills and education her father gave her to survive the dangerous countryside.

Asif is a hungry, unwashed ten-year-old boy missing one leg who takes shelter in a cave. He maintains a fierce, hostile exterior and initially responds to kindness with ridicule. His abrasive attitude masks physical and emotional scars from his past.

Leila is an optimistic eight-year-old girl living in a filthy, bomb-damaged house near a minefield. Following her mother's departure to look for missing relatives, she fends for herself and her unresponsive grandmother. She shows surprising enthusiasm despite the squalor and danger surrounding her home.

Grandmother is an elderly woman who fell into a completely silent, immobile state after her daughter left home. She relies entirely on her young granddaughter for basic survival needs. She represents the extreme psychological toll of continual loss.

Hassan is an infant whom Parvana discovers alone in the rubble of a destroyed settlement. Too young to walk or talk, he becomes entirely dependent on Parvana for food and safety as she carries him across the country.

A former history teacher who passed his love of learning to his daughter. He guided Parvana out of Kabul to search for their missing family before succumbing to illness. His lessons and the books he carried serve as Parvana's primary guide for survival.

Shauzia is Parvana's best friend from their time in Kabul. Although physically absent, she acts as a silent confidante. Parvana writes regular letters to her to process loneliness, fear, and fading memories of a normal childhood.

Parvana's missing mother, whom Parvana is determined to locate after being separated. She taught her daughter strict standards of cleanliness and household care, which Parvana attempts to recreate while surviving in the wilderness.

Parvana's older sister who was separated from Parvana and their father during the war. Finding her is one of Parvana's primary motivations for walking across Afghanistan.

Parvana's younger sister. She represents the fractured family unit that Parvana desperately hopes to piece back together.

Parvana's baby brother, separated from her during the ongoing conflict. Parvana's discovery of the infant Hassan often reminds her of her responsibility to her own missing brother.