Amal Unbound

A New York Times Bestseller! Amal has big dreams, until a nightmarish encounter . . . Twelve-year-old Amal's dream of becoming a teacher one day is dashed in an instant when she accidentally insults a member of her Pakistani village's ruling family. As punishment for her behavior, she is forced to leave her heartbroken family behind and go work at their estate. Amal is distraught but has faced setbacks before. So she summons her courage and begins navigating the complex rules of life as a servant, with all its attendant jealousies and pecking-order woes. Most troubling, though, is Amal's increasing awareness of the deadly measures the Khan family will go to in order to stay in control. It's clear that their hold over her village will never loosen as long as everyone is too afraid to challenge them--so if Amal is to have any chance of ensuring her loved ones' safety and winning back her freedom, she must find a way to work with the other servants to make it happen.

Autorentext
Aisha Saeed also wrote Written in the Stars, and is a Pakistani-American writer, teacher, and attorney. She has been featured on MTV, the Huffington Post, NBC and the BBC, and her writings have appeared in publications including the journal ALAN and the Orlando Sentinel. As one of the founding members of the much talked about We Need Diverse Books Campaign, she is helping change the conversation about diverse books. Aisha lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and sons.

Klappentext

A New York Times Bestseller!

Amal has big dreams, until a nightmarish encounter . . .

Twelve-year-old Amal's dream of becoming a teacher one day is dashed in an instant when she accidentally insults a member of her Pakistani village's ruling family. As punishment for her behavior, she is forced to leave her heartbroken family behind and go work at their estate.

Amal is distraught but has faced setbacks before. So she summons her courage and begins navigating the complex rules of life as a servant, with all its attendant jealousies and pecking-order woes. Most troubling, though, is Amal's increasing awareness of the deadly measures the Khan family will go to in order to stay in control. It's clear that their hold over her village will never loosen as long as everyone is too afraid to challenge them--so if Amal is to have any chance of ensuring her loved ones' safety and winning back her freedom, she must find a way to work with the other servants to make it happen.

Zusammenfassung
A New York Times Bestseller!

Amal has big dreams, until a nightmarish encounter . . .

Twelve-year-old Amal's dream of becoming a teacher one day is dashed in an instant when she accidentally insults a member of her Pakistani village's ruling family. As punishment for her behavior, she is forced to leave her heartbroken family behind and go work at their estate.

Amal is distraught but has faced setbacks before. So she summons her courage and begins navigating the complex rules of life as a servant, with all its attendant jealousies and pecking-order woes. Most troubling, though, is Amal's increasing awareness of the deadly measures the Khan family will go to in order to stay in control. It's clear that their hold over her village will never loosen as long as everyone is too afraid to challenge them--so if Amal is to have any chance of ensuring her loved ones' safety and winning back her freedom, she must find a way to work with the other servants to make it happen.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1

I watched from the window as the boys tumbled out of the brick schoolhouse across the field from us. Our class was running over. Again.
Girls shifted in their seats and snuck glances at the clock above the chalkboard. My friend Hafsa sighed.
And finally, I have some bad news, Miss Sadia told us. She picked up a stack of papers from her desk. I finished grading your math tests. Only five of you passed.
The class let out a collective groan.
Now, now, she hushed us. This just means we have more work to do. We ll go over it tomorrow and take another test next week.
Those questions were hard, my younger sister Seema whispered to me. We lined up by the chalkboard at the front of the class to get our tests. I should ve stayed with the younger class until fall.
Oh, come on. You know you probably passed, I whispered back. When have you ever failed an exam?
Seema tugged at her sleeves as she walked up to Miss Sadia. It was only in the arms that you could see my old uniform was too big on her. Miss Sadia handed Seema the paper. As expected, Seema s worried expression shifted to a smile. Her steps were lighter before she slipped out of the classroom.
I m sorry I can t help today, I told Miss Sadia once the room was empty. This was my favorite part of the day, when everyone left and it was just the two of us. The building felt like it had exhaled, expanding a little bit without all thirty-four of us, crammed two to a desk, filling up nearly every square inch of space. My mother is in bed again.
Is the baby almost here?
Yes, so my father said I have to come home and watch my sisters.
I ll miss your help, Amal, but he s right; family comes first.
I knew helping family was what a good eldest daughter did, but this time after school with Miss Sadia wasn t just fun; it was important. I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up, and who better to learn from than the best teacher I ever had? I loved washing the chalkboards, sweeping the floor and hearing stories of her college days. I loved watching her go over her lessons and rework them based on what worked and what didn t the day before. I learned so much from watching her. How could my father not understand?
I could still use your help with the poetry unit next week, she told me. Some of the students are grumbling about it. Think you could convince Hafsa to give it a chance? You know how she rallies the others to her side. She ll listen to you.
I don t think she minds reading the poems. Writing them makes her nervous.
You d think everyone would be happy to write poetry! Shorter than an essay.
It s different. The great poets like Ghalib, Rumi, Iqbal they had things to say.
And don t you have things to say?
What would I write about? I laughed. My little sisters? My father s sugarcane fields and orange groves? I love reading poems, but there s nothing for me to really write about. Our life is boring.
That s not true! Write about what you see! Write about your dreams. Pakistan was founded by the dreams of poets. Aren t we o