Amal Unbound

by Aisha Saeed

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 realises 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.

• ISBN10: 0399544682
• ISBN13: 9780399544682
• Publish Date: 8 May 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Nancy Paulsen Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780399544682

Reviews

[mrs_mander_reads]

Definitely a must-read for anyone who is trying to diversify their TBR. Great inside look at what life in Pakistan looks like for young women, and the issues they face.

[nannah]

This book has been on my to-read since it came out, and it was finally free for me to check out from my library (which is a very good thing!).

Amal Unbound tells the story of a young girl from a small Pakistani village. For the most part, Amal’s life is happy: she has her family, her friends at school, and her dreams of becoming a teacher. But when she accidentally insults the village’s rich and corrupt landlord, she’s taken back to his estate as punishment and as a way for her family pay back their debts. At the estate, Amal realizes just how unethical the landlord and his dealings really are. But making one wrong move trying to expose his crimes could mean even more punishment for her family.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. While it was never boring, always entertaining (and always heartfelt), it also felt like it ended way too quickly. There were definitely pacing problems, and some of the characters introduced in the beginning never had any purpose in the second half (other than perhaps being compared to Amal in an afterthought).

Pacing was great in the first half, but I had about one-fourth left in the book when I realized there still had to be a climax and the build-up to a climax and nothing had been introduced yet! There was mention of the landlord’s crimes and Amal wanting to do something about it, but there was so little page time left! In the end, the climax was something Amal didn’t see herself, and she was just … released.

I know in real life, speaking out against something can be enough (and it even says so in-book), especially since this is aimed at a middle-grade audience, but the story really did feel over too soon. Where was Omar, Amal’s best friend? He vanished halfway. With all the talk of the inappropriateness of them being friends despite them being different genders, I thought there would be at least something more about that.

Despite these things though, it was a very enjoyable short read.

[Sarah Says]

Amal Unbound is a Middle Grade novel, but I appreciated and enjoyed this story as an adult. I found it to be a captivating and delightful read, even though it dealt with some not so delightful things.

I am sure that the idea of village hierarchy, an all power landlord and forced servitude would shock a lot kids, which is why books like this are so important. It is a story that I feel will give it’s target audience, and any others who read it for that matter, a connection and compassion for a child in totally different circumstances then themselves. It’s one I’ll definitely be giving to my boys to read when they are a bit older.

Essentially, while 12 year old Amal is under the intense pressure of running her parents household, caring for four younger siblings as her mother suffers from post-natal-depression, she snaps and says the wrong thing to the wrong person. Amal then finds her life turned upside down as she is ripped from her home and forced into the servitude of the man whose ego she bruised.

Ultimately Amal Unbound It is a story of hope. A story of right and wrong. A story of Karma catching up with those that think they are untouchable. A story of a young girl fighting her her freedom, and winning.

Who would enjoy this book: anybody who craves knowledge (Amal dreams of knowing everything there is to know of the world), anybody in need of a feel good tale and being reminded that sometimes right does win out over wrong, anybody who loves an underdog, anybody with a passion for women’s rights.

[Kelly]

In the small farming province of Nabay Chak, Amal is an inquisitive young lady with a penchant for knowledge. Inspired by Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, Amal is an intelligent and inspirational young lady, the eldest daughter who is reluctantly coerced to abandon her education, her mother overcome by postpartum depression.

Amal appreciates her education, acknowledging the ideology that female education is frivolous although vehemently in disagreement. Challenging the educational ideals of her father and although their discussion remaining courteous, Amal is conscientious of the discrimination against females throughout conservative communities.

Jawad Sahib is a tyrannical and oppressive leader within the region, his affluent and privileged family beneficiaries impoverished families throughout Nabay Chai. Displaced by her insolence, Amal will reside at the wealthy estate as compensation, a young life of oppression and servitude. The secondary characters are vividly imagined, especially Fatima, an orphaned child. Fatima and Amal share a wonderfully tender friendship and surprisingly, finding a kindred spirit in Nasreen Baji, lady of the estate and woman within her own gilded cage.

Inspired by Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, Amal Unbound is a beautifully written and extraordinary narrative of one young girl and her determination to invoke change. Essential reading.