Amal Unbound

What Is The Story?

Do you ever wish you could open your child’s eyes to the struggles children go through in non-Western nations where slavery and all the human rights we take for granted do not exist?

Amal Unbound is a gentle treatment of tragic subjects. The story follows a few years in the life of Amal, a twelve year old girl in Pakistan who learns the hard way that challenging a warlord in her country leads to a life of slavery.

The story touches on all kinds of reasons why children end up in slavery in 3rd world nations from parents who sell their children for a few goats to those who foolishly enter into business deals they cannot handle with evil men.

Slavery for sex is not touched on in this story, but the tale ends with the discovery of a buried dead man.

While this story suggests that the way to reform in countries like Pakistan is through literacy, in reality no amount of literacy will change a culture that does not place value on human life. That is an excellent message to share with your middle and high school aged children.

Our culture in the United States is unique and precious and founded on principles of God-given rights. That is why so many from around the world flock to our nation. And that is the extraordinary gift we safeguard and pass on to our children.

Who Is This Book Good For?

You can use this book with your child as a way to start the discussion in a gentle way with your middle grade and high school aged child.

But first, you need to get the book!

From The Publisher

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.

Title: Amal Unbound

By Aisha Saeed
Ages: 10-Adult
240 pages
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books
published May 8, 2018
$17.99