Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

 

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Saeed, Aisha. 2018. AMAL UNBOUND. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. ISBN 9780399544682.

B. PLOT SUMMARY
Amal was a bright student who dreamed of becoming a teacher. As the eldest of the children in her family, it was her responsibility to help with her younger siblings and the home when her mother was ill after childbirth.  She never dreamed that a simple trip to the market would change her life forever.  When she was almost run over by a vehicle, and then rudely asked ot give up her precious pomegranate, Ama.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

One would think this book was set a hundred or more years ago, but it isn’t. The classism and sexism that Amal is victim to is unfortunately still around in modern times. T 

There are so many cultural markers shared in this book.  I do not know very much about Pakistan and its culture, so this book was very interesting and enlightening for me. The village culture is different from ours here in Texas.  Also, the educational system is very different.  Saeed writes Amal as a young woman who values education so much that she wants to become a teacher as an adult.  Educational opportunities are not guaranteed to the masses in this country.  Wealth and gender are greater factors in one’s ability to receive an education. 

Saaed includes several different descriptors about clothes in the story.  For example, Amal wears a “chador” to the market, and she mentions how she “cloak[s]” herself with it. Reading this small description of what she was wearing completely changed how I imagined Amal in the marketplace. The chador is a garment associated with culture and religious beliefs. Amal also mentions the city girls wearing “shalwar kamizes”--again, I found myself Googling this to understand the meaning.  

The food in the story also taught me about Pakistani culture. Tea is a social drink there, like coffee or wine is in my local culture. Fruit is a treat, like Amal’s pomegranate or oranges from the groves. Amal describes the city by the smell of “samosas and pakoras.” 

It is difficult to not judge another culture by your own values and social norms. Some aspects of Amal’s story can be universally understood to be unfair or unjust, and there are others that are a matter of opinion or belief. 

D. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPTS

ALA Notable Children's Books, 2019

Booklist, April 2018: “Saeed fills her prose with lush descriptions of Pakistani life, while still managing to connect with readers whose surroundings and experiences will be starkly different. Hand to any reader who struggles with definitive gender roles, norms, and expectations held in place by societal structures.”

Kirkus Reviews starred, April 2018: “Amal narrates, her passion for learning, love for her family, and despair at her circumstance evoked with sympathy and clarity, as is the setting. Inspired by Malala Yousafzai and countless unknown girls like her, Saeed’s timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice.”

Publishers Weekly starred, March 2018

School Library Journal starred, June 2018

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), April 2018

E. CONNECTIONS

Literature reflects real life.  Unfortunately, stories of indentured servants and slaves are still reality.  Amal Unbound could be read alongside other great books that tell similar tragic stories, like Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper, Lion Island: Cuba’s warrior of words by Margarita Engle, and The Queen of Water by Laura Resau.