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Amal Unbound

Aisha Saeed

Ages 10–14

Readers rate it 4.0 (34 on Hardcover)

257 pages · Released Jan 7, 2020

Content report card

Amal Unbound parent’s guide: what’s inside

High confidence

Language

Sexual content

LGBTQ+ themes

Substance use

What it offers

A note for parents

Amal Unbound is a literary middle-grade novel that addresses serious real-world issues—indentured servitude, corruption, and systemic injustice—through the perspective of a resilient Pakistani girl. While the subject matter is mature, the treatment is age-appropriate and ultimately empowering, emphasizing hope, courage, and collective action rather than despair. The book celebrates education and resistance to oppression, making it valuable for readers ready to engage with social justice themes. It's best suited for confident readers 10 and up who can handle themes of servitude and injustice without graphic depiction.

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From the publisher

The compelling story of a girl's fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude. ONE OF BOOK RIOT’S BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS OF THE CENTURY (SO FAR) "Saeed's timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review Life is quiet... The compelling story of a girl's fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude. ONE OF BOOK RIOT’S BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS OF THE CENTURY (SO FAR) "Saeed's timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review 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.

Shelved under

  • Juvenile Fiction
  • Asian American
  • Pakistan
  • Fiction
  • Contemporary
  • Philosophy
  • Young Adult
  • Literary Fiction
  • Young Adult Fiction
  • Family
  • Courage
  • Conduct of life

Books in the Amal Unbound series

Full series in order →

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ISBN 9780399544699 · Penguin

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