Read This Book: Amal Unbound by Aisha Saied

Amal is a 12-year-old girl living in a small town in Pakistan. She dreams of one day becoming a teacher, and she loves school more than anything. She’s hopeful that she can continue her education for as long as possible, and her family, though poor, are supportive. But then one day, Amal inadvertently offends a member of the most powerful family in the region while at the market, the Khans, and they decide to call in her father’s debt early. Amal’s parents can’t pay, so they are forced to send Amal into indentured servitude to the Khans.

Amal is alone and far from home, and she’s heartbroken to be missing out on school. And life at the Khan household is not easy. Some of the members of the family are cruel and capricious, although others show kindness. As Amal begins to make friends and learn what’s expected of her, she realizes how hopeless her situation is–it’ll be years before her debt can be paid. But she also begins to learn the Khan family’s secrets…and if she can be brave enough to expose them, then maybe she can find her way home.

Aisha Saeed takes a situation that would be unimaginable for many, and she tells a brilliant and sensitive story of a young girl who has a dream and won’t be easily deterred. The stakes are real, and dangerous, which makes this a hard book to put down, and it borders on a thriller in some ways when Amal’s situation goes from bad to dangerous, but it’s not too dark for middle grade readers to handle. I loved that education–both the love of learning and the burning desire to learn–are central to Amal’s character and her motivation, and her gift for teaching comes across in everything she does and how she thinks. This is a great contemporary novel that explores issues of social justice, unfair labor, sexism, and more in a well-written and engaging story that might be intended for kids, but is great for older readers, too!