Amal Unbound

Twelve-year-old Amal’s dreams of becoming a teacher are shattered when she disrespects the powerful landlord of her Pakistani village and is forced into a life of servitude in the New York Times bestselling Amal Unbound (2018). Author Aisha Saeed is a Pakistani-American teacher, writer, and attorney as well as a founder of the We Need Diverse Books organization. In Amal Unbound, Saeed calls attention to contemporary global inequities, exploring themes of social injustice, education, and the importance of family. Amal Unbound is a look at one girl’s courage as Amal struggles to regain her freedom and become a force of change for her village. The novel received starred reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly, and also appeared on numerous top ten booklists, including YALSA’s Top Ten for Reluctant Readers. Amal Unbound was also listed as a 2019 ALSC Notable Book. In 2022, Saeed published Omar Rising, a companion novel to Amal Unbound.

Plot Summary

Amal, the narrator, lives in a tiny rural village in the Punjabi region of Pakistan. She loves reading and learning, and plans to attend college and become a teacher like her own inspirational instructor, Miss Sadia.