The Kite Runner

In Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner Amir makes many decisions in his early and mid childhood that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Amir's best friend Hassan is the type that will do anything for his best friend, but Amir never returns the favor. Amir treats Hassan horrendously, and stands as a witness to Hassan's violent rape without taking action. Amir's constant ignorance and eventual shunning of his best friend result in Amir's troubled adulthood and lack of trust in individuals. He feels a constant sense of dread and sadness, especially when he learns Hassan has been murdered. Despite Amir's successful life in America, he returns to Afghanistan to redeem himself by adopting Hassan's son and rescuing him from child slavery and sexual abuse.

Amir's seemingly typical childhood disregard for those who are different turned in to much more, a life wasted trying to fix his past mistakes.