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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Twelve-year-old Amal lives in a Pakistani village where a powerful family, the Khans, incites fear because of their ruthlessness when seeking repayment for loans they’ve given. When Amal insults Jawad, the oldest Khan son, by refusing to sell him the last pomegranate, which she just purchased at the market, the price of the insult is high: Jawad calls for immediate repayment of Amal’s father’s debt. Since Amal’s father has no money, Jawad forces Amal to work at the Khan home as an indentured servant until the debt can be repaid. Amal becomes the personal servant of Jawad’s mother, Nasreen Baji. Unlike her son, the older woman is unusually kind. Still, Amal is desperate to leave the Khans and return to her family, and to school, which she loves. With room and board deducted from her wages, however, repayment of the loan is next to impossible, and Amal feels trapped. One tenacious girl’s search for justice is the center of a novel that affirms the value of girls and the importance of education. (Ages 9–13)

CCBC Choices 2019 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2019. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

January 1, 2019
When a car grazes Pakistani girl Amal, she stands up to the rude stranger who emerges from it. The man is Jawad Sahib, son of the town's villainous landlord, who forces Amal into indentured servitude to pay back family debts. Short chapters and unadorned prose make this heartwrenching yet hopeful contemporary story accessible and direct, with Amal's emotions and strength anchoring the narrative as she uncovers the Sahibs' criminal activity.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Horn Book

November 1, 2018
This heart-wrenching yet hopeful contemporary novel about class, gender, and literacy features a narrator who takes great risks in the name of justice and self-determination. Amal lives with her family in a small village in Pakistan. She dreams of becoming a teacher, but as the eldest daughter her education takes a backseat to familial responsibilities after her mother gives birth to another girl. (Following an argument with her father, Amal wonders, If I were a son, would he so casually tell me to forget my dreams? ) When Amal is grazed by a car at the market and the stranger who emerges from it is rude to her, she stands up to him, with dire consequences. The man is Jawad Sahib, the son of the town's villainous landlord. Enraged at Amal's disrespect, he demands that Amal's father pay back his debts, forcing Amal into indentured servitude. As Amal bonds with the other servants and tries to adjust to her new life, she learns more about the Sahib family's history and gains knowledge that will implicate them in a crime. When she has an opportunity to expose the truth, she takes it. Short chapters and unadorned prose make the story accessible and direct, with Amal's emotions, perspective, and strength anchoring the narrative. An author's note asserts that Amal represents real women and girls who fight injustice across the globe, often without recognition. elisa gall

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Publisher's Weekly

July 30, 2018
Ayyar gives an uneven performance of Saeed's middle grade novel about the underworld of indentured servitude in contemporary Pakistan. When 12-year-old Amal publicly defies the scion of the powerful Khan family, the Khans call in her father's debt and force Amal to work as their servant. While in their household, she discovers evidence that the Khans have engaged in illegal activities and forges alliances with other servants in the household to expose them. Ayyar's performance is most captivating when she is narrating Amal's inner monologue; her treble voice is quite believable as that of a child maturing into a woman. The problem is that many of the characters-whether they are adults or children, male or female-sound this way, too. When Amal's parents have a heated discussion about Amal's future, for example, it's impossible to tell which of them is speaking unless the dialogue makes that clear; later in the book, the Khans' chauffeur and housekeeper sound indistinguishable from each other and from the local teacher who helps to broaden Amal's world. The lack of differentiation is a major drawback and makes this production more confusing than it needs to be. Ages 10�"up. A Penguin/Paulsen hardcover.

From School Library Journal

Starred review from June 1, 2018

Gr 5-8-Amal is an inquisitive young girl living with her family in a Punjabi village in rural Pakistan. Inspired by her favorite teacher, Amal dreams of becoming an educator. However, the tween has to stay home to run the household while her mother recovers from postpartum depression. Her ambitions fade away completely, though, after an accident involving the car of the wealthy Jawad Sahib, and she becomes a servant in Sahib's house to pay off her family's debts. Amal discovers the strength to overcome her harrowing circumstances, while making new friends and finding comfort in books and learning. What follows is Amal's social awakening. She finds the courage to fight for justice on behalf of herself and her community. Saeed's middle grade debut shares an empowering message about the importance of family, literacy, and cultural ties. The rich storytelling, nuanced characterization of an all-Pakistani cast, complex and layered look at the socioeconomics of the region, and richly described setting make this ultimately hopeful contemporary tale a good alternative to Gloria Whelan's Homeless Bird and Patricia McCormick's Sold. VERDICT A strong choice for all middle grade shelves, especially where readers are seeking stories about young girls in non-Western countries overcoming adversity.-Shelley Diaz, School Library Journal

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

April 1, 2018
Grades 4-6 Pakistani Amal loves going to school and looks forward to becoming a teacher in the future. She only becomes aware of nuances in gender roles and the lack of opportunities afforded to girls after her father tells her that she must take care of the household while her mother recovers from childbirth. Amal hopes to continue her schooling once her mother is well, but that goal drifts further away when an accidental encounter lands her in a humongous heap of trouble. In order to spare her family from incurring further wrath and unfair consequences, Amal becomes an indentured servant to the odious Khan family. Readers will find that a little perseverance and a heart filled with hope can eventually surmount a harsh reality. 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

From Kirkus

Starred review from April 1, 2018
A Pakistani girl's dreams of an education dissolve when she is forced into indentured servitude.Bookish Amal, who lives in a small village in Punjab, Pakistan, dreams of becoming a teacher and a poet. When she inadvertently insults Jawad, the son of her village's wealthy and influential, but corrupt, landlord, Khan Sahib, she is forced into indentured servitude with his family. Jawad assures Amal's father that she will be "treated like all my servants, no better, no worse" and promises him that he will "let her visit twice a year like the others." Once in her enslaver's home, Amal is subject to Jawad's taunts, which are somewhat mitigated by the kind words of his mother, Nasreen Baji, whose servant she becomes. Amal keeps her spirits up by reading poetry books that she surreptitiously sneaks from the estate library and teaching the other servant girls how to read and write. Amal ultimately finds a friend in the village's literacy center--funded, ironically enough, by the Khan family--where she befriends the U.S.-educated teacher, Asif, and learns that the powerful aren't invincible. 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. (Fiction. 10-14)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from March 12, 2018
Saeed (Written in the Stars) infuses this true-to-life story of unjust power dynamics in a poor Pakistani village with a palpable sense of dread regarding the fate of the inquisitive, industrious, poetry-loving titular character. Twelve-year-old Amal is troubled by her parents' obvious distress that her newborn sibling is yet another girl, and she is vexed that her responsibilities as eldest daughter require her to run the household while her mother is bedridden. Amal unleashes her frustration on the wrong person when she talks back to Jawad Sahib, the wealthy landowner, who demands she work off her debt for the insult
. Amal's experience navigating an unfamiliar social hierarchy in the landlord's lavish estate exposes her to pervasive gender inequities and unfair labor practices, like being charged for room and board but receiving no pay. While her growing indebtedness makes it unlikely she will ever leave, Amal's ability to read grants her a dangerous opportunity to expose the landlord's extensive corruption, if she dares. Saeed's eloquent, suspenseful, eye-opening tale offers a window into the contemporary practice of indentured servitude and makes a compelling case for the power of girls' education to transform systemic injustice. Ages 10�"up. Agent: Taylor Martindale Kean, Full Circle Literary.

From AudioFile Magazine

Narrator Priya Ayyar beautifully conveys this bittersweet story set in Pakistan, which was inspired by Malala Yousafzai and millions of girls like her. Amal accidently collides with the son of her village's ruling family. After she verbally challenges him, she's forced to live with his family as a servant. Vibrant descriptions of the village, school, and Amal's friends take the listener into the center of her life. Ayyar's narration captures Amal grief over losing her family, friends, and education--she planned to become a teacher. It's moving and comforting to hear her settle into her new "home," where she makes friends who help her and whom she also helps. Listeners of all ages will enjoy this coming-of-age story, which is sadly realistic but hopeful. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine