Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Hey book lovers! Sorry I haven’t posted in ages. Work has been incredibly stressful this year…I’ve been working in schools for 10+ years, but this year has been particularly draining, both physically and mentally. Anyhoo – today I’m here with a book review for a book I read this summer called Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed. This is a moving story set in Pakistan about a young girl resiliently chasing her dreams while being forced to work as a servant.

About The Book 📚

Title: Amal Unbound

Author: Aisha Saeed

Publication Date: 2018

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Suggested Reader Age: Middle Grade

Genre: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Cultural (Pakistan)

“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 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.”

About The Author

“Aisha Saeed is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books for children. Her books, including the middle grade novel Amal Unbound (Penguin), the young adult novel Yes No Maybe So (co-written with Becky Albertalli), and the anthology Once Upon Eid (co-edited with S.K. Ali) received multiple starred reviews. Amal Unbound was selected as a Global Read Aloud for 2018 and was the winner of the South Asian book award. Her picture book, Bilal Cooks Daal (Simon and Schuster) received an APALA honor. Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram via @aishacs.” http://aishasaeed.com/bio/

http://aishasaeed.com/14-things/

My Review

› Amal is the oldest daughter in her family who dreams of being a teacher. Her friend Hafsa wants to be a doctor. Omar brings Amal books because the school for boys has more books than the girl’s school. Omar lives in the shed behind Amal’s house. His mother is their family’s servant. Amal has two younger sisters and her parents are devastated when another girl is born.

Amal’s father tells her that she can’t go back to school until her mother is back on her feet. They don’t name the illness but it seems to be a mental illness. One day, Amal stands up to a stranger, yelling at him in front of everyone at the market. She later discovers this man is the son of their village’s landlord. She’s then forced to move into their home as an indentured servant to pay off her family’s debt. Although this isn’t the life she wants to live, she is given the gift of reading many books she would have never had to opportunity to read. With her family, she was bound to a life serving the household. In Khan’s household, she’s bound to the life of an indentured servant. She learns a lot of lessons as she attempts to become unbound.

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 10
› Atmosphere: 8
I teared up many times. There are so many struggles Amal had in Pakistan that I never experienced as a white person in Canada.

“My mother didn’t name us until we were a year old and she knew for sure we would survive.”

› Writing Style: 10

› Plot: 10

› Intrigue: 10

› Logic: 10

› Enjoyment: 8

Average 9.4

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• Amal Unbound is a poignant story about indentured servants, social issues, Pakistani family life, and courage. I loved it and I can’t wait to read Omar Rising. I’m also looking forward to reading Saeed’s young adult novel coming out next year, Forty Words For Love, a picture book called The Together Tree, and a middle-grade novel written in four perspectives by four authors called Grounded. Okay, I guess let’s just read everything Aisha Saeed writes.