Forced to leave school to care for her siblings in accordance with Pakistani village tradition, a disappointed Amal suffers an accidental run-in with the son of a corrupt landlord and is forced into indentured servitude, where her witness to her master's nefarious dealings compels her to make risky alliances in support of change. By the author of Written in the Stars. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

In Pakistan, Amal holds onto her dream of being a teacher even after becoming an indentured servant to pay off her family's debt to the wealthy and corrupt Khan family. - (Baker & Taylor)

"Saeed's timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

The compelling story of a girl's fight to regain her life and dreams after being forced into indentured servitude.

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. - (Penguin Putnam)

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. - (Penguin Putnam)

Booklist Reviews

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. Grades 4-6. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

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 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

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 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

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 th e 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 Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

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. (May)

School Library Journal Reviews

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