Amal Unbound

When I hear the words "indentured servant" I think of a youth or immigrant in colonial America, working seven years to learn a trade and work their way to freedom. In Amal Unbound, author Aisha Saeed shines a light on the hidden, present day, virtual enslavement of oppressed people, especially girls. Twelve -year-old Amal is the eldest child living in a present day Pakistani village. One day she is attending school, dreaming of becoming a teacher and the next she must stay home to take care of her family while her mother recovers from childbirth. Frustrated by having to care for her two younger sisters, Amal goes to the market alone, enjoying her temporary reprieve from constant care taking. She is nearly run over by the corrupt and ruthless overlord who rules the village with impossible financial demands. Amal could be killed, beaten, or forced to live and work in the overlord's household. Even as the car arrives to take her away, Amal and her family hold out hope that they will be able to raise the money to buy her freedom. Amal soon learns that she has little chance of leaving the situation and despair nearly overtakes her. She must learn to negotiate the complex social system of the house staff and barely escapes the overlord's wrath after being set up by another servant. Worse, the Kahn family kills those who stand in their way. Amal rises above her despair and risks all in a desperate plan to bring justice to her village and to win her freedom. The story of Amal Unbound is as stunning and compelling as the book's cover. According to Saeed, most indentured servitude does not end with freedom and this odious practice is a world-wide problem, but readers will cheer Amal's determination and fortitude. Perfect for a read aloud, book club, or gift for middle grade students and teachers.

The book cover is a piece of art, and this book is written for a younger audience, like kids between 9 and 13. I think Aisha Saeed's books should be put into every school curriculum. In Pakistan, Amal holds on to her dream of being a teacher even after becoming an indentured servant to pay off her family's debt to the wealthy and corrupt Khan family. The book as the previous one Aisha Saeed wrote burned me. I felt angry and I wanted to enter the book and save Amal from the tyrant monster who made her a slave (I felt that Khan dude to be much older but he was in his early twenties). Amal's name in Arabic means Hope الأمل... and I think it's such a suitable name, she hopes for a better future for herself and others and hopes to change the injustice in her village. On the other hand, I believe that some things are disguised as bad things that might be good things in the long run. In the beginning of the book, Amal was treated like an unpaid maid to her family, they depended on her too much while she is a child as well and her father didn't care about her education. She only imagined herself as the woman she respected the most, her teacher in school. That's what she wanted to be. When she moved to the Khan estate she saw a different side to the same story, she might have come by force, but many others loved staying and working in that house. She had the opportunity to be exposed to both a different lifestyle and education both with different people and books. The books she read wouldn't have been available to her in her house or school. Amal might have felt she lost something by what happened to her, but maybe she gained more than anyone else in her small town. She saw for herself how rich people lived, she learned different things, like how to be strong on her own, and most importantly that people even the ones you loved more than anything could move on and forget you. That she is stronger and braver than her parents. Her father was obviously planning on stopping her education, so maybe what happened benefited her in the long run, her father felt ashamed and indebted to her, she gained her freedom in her imprisonment. The book ends in an open way, I think Amal could be anything she wants, not just a teacher, I think she is the one who is going to succeed between ALL of her friends and neighbors, she might even travel and see the world someday. This girl is a fighter!

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and the story. It was a bit simplistic in the way in which the conflict was resolved, but for it to be less than a three hour read Such a Sawed did a wonderful nob.

As a 3rd grade teacher, who focuses on diverse literature and jumps on any chance to bring the global world into my classroom, I had Amal Unbound sitting on my shelf for a while. I didn’t read it as soon as it was released because it had been marketed as 10 years and up, so more along 4th/5th grade interest level. I am so mad at myself for not reading it sooner! Needless to say, I read it in one sitting and was cheering for Amal. Her courage and bravery are impressive and the writing is so authentic, I never once questioned any expressions or descriptions used. Amal navigates an environment that is anything but easy and she shows that characters have many different facets in real life, even when they are cruel at their core. “I’m not brave. I’m terrified. I just don’t have a choice.” “You always have a choice. Making choices even when they scare you because you know it’s the right thing to do—that’s bravery.” This is one of those books that stay with you for a while. Enough has been said by previous reviewers about the book lending itself to discussions about courage, determination, the power of education, modern day slavery, gender, economics (debts, loans, etc.), etc. The book is written with a younger audience in mind as well.

Great book and story arc overall, beautiful cover design.

The book came in as an excellent packing and new.

Great book for kids grade 6.

It is such a beautiful and moving book about the cruelty towards the children and lower class people. This book has an amazing emotional connection with all the readers and once you start reading it You cannot put the book down even for a second 😀

Wonderful book!!! It teaches you so many important things to do in life and also it teaches us how to stand for ourselves. I recommend it!!

A mia figlia è piaciuto

Good!!