“Saeed’s timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewThe compelling story of a girl’s fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude.Life is quiet and ordinary in Amal’s Pakistani village, but she had no complaints, and besides, she’s busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Her … pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Her dreams are temporarily dashed when–as the eldest daughter–she must stay home from school to take care of her siblings. Amal is upset, but she doesn’t lose hope and finds ways to continue learning. Then the unimaginable happens–after an accidental run-in with the son of her village’s corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family’s servant to pay off her own family’s debt.
Life at the opulent Khan estate is full of heartbreak and struggle for Amal–especially when she inadvertently makes an enemy of a girl named Nabila. Most troubling, though, is Amal’s growing awareness of the Khans’ nefarious dealings. When it becomes clear just how far they will go to protect their interests, Amal realizes she will have to find a way to work with others if they are ever to exact change in a cruel status quo, and if Amal is ever to achieve her dreams.
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Set in Pakistan, this book gives us readers from the Western Hemisphere a bit of an insight into how different cultures can be to what we are accustomed to.
Amal, being the eldest of her siblings, is expected to fall into place wherever assistance is required. However, on one of her regular trips to the market, she is faced with an unfortunate circumstance that leads to her being taken away from her home because she spoke up for her self.
A story with great depth. I highly recommend.
Twelve-year-old Amal is the oldest daughter in a modern day Pakistani family. After her mother takes to her bed after a difficult childbirth, Amal’s father deems it necessary for Amal to assume her filial resposibility to quit school and care for her mother and siblings. “I’m sorry, Amal. But this is how it has to be now. You’re the eldest daughter. Your place is here. …You can read and write. What more do you need to know?” Being a lover of books and education, Amal is heartbroken and questions the traditions that have put her in this much dreaded position. Unfortunately for Amal, her situation suddenly gets worse when she is ripped from her loving family after an outburst of temper and defiance to the wrong person. This is a story highlighting limited or no education for girls and crushing indentured servitude for a people with few resources and little strength to stand up for themselves.
Amal works hard but her mind is in rebellion. “No, it’s not fair. But that’s life.” ‘There it was yet again, my father’s words: Life isn’t fair. Maybe it was true, but why was that a reason to just accept everything and go along with it? I hoped the rumor about the girl turning down Jawad Sahid was true. I hoped there really was someone out there who had the courage to stand up to him and say no.”
In her new home, Amal becomes the personal servant of the kindly mother of the powerful and much feared Jawad Sahib. Amal manages to endear herself to this woman of humble beginnings and finds herself in a position of some influence. Amal sets her mind to make the most of a heartbreaking situation, “None of this is easy, I wanted to tell her. My new life was simply about making choices, none of which I actually wished to make.” In the end, Amal makes a decision to take action that adults were afraid to do, changing the future for herself, her beloved family, and the community in which she lives.
Simply written with short sentences, this book is appropriate for readers as young as third grade. The situations described make the point, but are not scary or inappropriate for young children. Amal can serve as a role model for girls struggling to make a better place for themselves, and also enlightenment for boys’ awareness of the traditional societal limitations placed on those born female, through no fault of their own.
AMAL UNBOUND by Aisha Saeed
I began by listening to the excellent audio version, but as the plot drew me in, I needed the faster pace of reading to resolution. “Life isn’t fair,” as Amal’s papa said, but reading and learning can make troubles bearable and courage can help make changes. This is a YA book with lessons for all ages, including, “Why did it take leaving my ordinary life behind to appreciate how precious it truly was?”
Following the advice of another reviewer, I will be reading WRITTEN IN THE STARS next.
My daughter had to read this book for school and I just could not put it down until I finished it!
Finished it in one day. This story was moving and compelling.