Amal Unbound~ Aisha Saeed

Set in a small village in Pakistan, this novel tells the story of Amal, a young girl who is excited to pursue her dreams of becoming a teacher. But her family, education, and future are suddenly ripped away from her after she accidentally offends the village’s corrupt and politically powerful Khan family. Amal becomes one of many in her village who is “indebted” to the family, and in order to make up for the disrespect she showed, she is taken as an indentured servant to the Khan estate.  Amal has no idea when or if she will ever be free again.

I was so engrossed in this story that I finished it at school while reading alongside my students during silent reading time!  I love this novel because it draws attention to the problem of indentured servitude in Pakistan--and around the country. I also love that the author, Aisha Saeed, wrote this book to shine some light on any child in the world who shows small, consistent acts of courage. Amal is a fiery and hopeful young girl who is not recognized for her bravery but makes an important difference.  This book will inspire countless readers to do the same. This novel is a wonderful read for any student grade 6 and up!

Buy it here!

Maturity: 1/4

This novel content is generally completely appropriate. However, toward the end of the novel readers learn that the Khan family has killed people who have not paid their debts. However, no main characters are killed.

Pages: 226

Lexile: HL600L

A note about this Lexile score: The HL before this Lexile score indicates that this book is categorized as a high-interest, low-level reading novel. Essentially, the content of the book is highly engaging and has a Lexile score much lower than the typical reading level of its intended audience. This novel is perfect for middle schoolers because it is so accessible to learners of all ability levels.Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!