Recommended 11+

Amal Unbound, a novel

Linda J

Life is precarious for many girls around the world – and education is not always freely available. For Pakistani girl Amal, school has been a wonderful privilege which she was lapping up, until things go frightfully wrong – her plans study to be a teacher in ruins.

Amal Unbound echoes some of the realities for many girls around the world:

  • bound by traditional roles in their remote community
  • suffering for their low status
  • caught in their family’s debt spiral
  • extorted by people in positions of power

Amal also echoes the bravery and strengths of girls like Malala Yousafzai, whose desire for girls’ education lead to her being shot at point-blank range in 2012 by Taliban extremists. Like Malala, Amal yearns to better her position in life beyond accepting a traditional subservient female role. When things go awry for her, this desire becomes even more heightened – but what can a young girl do?

Malala’s story

Aisha Saeed is a Pakistani-American writer, teacher, and attorney. She is one of the creators of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks social media campaign. Her book, Amal Unbound, raises the issues of inequalities and indentured servitude (i.e. slavery for debt) which affects millions of people worldwide. It also recognises the need to be brave and take a stance against this – like Malala, and those who support the Malala Fund.

In most cases, education is a vital key, worldwide. For those caught in the tragic circumstances poverty sometimes deals them, it helps them strive for more; and for those in privileged positions, education aids understanding of the difficulties faced by many, and invites us to support ways to break down the barriers that hold girls back.

As Aisha Saeed states in her notes, Amal is relatively lucky in her servitude conditions – others suffer far worse. However, her loss of family life is her cruelest punishment, with lots for YA readers to consider. It would be interesting to know if the author plans a follow-up story…

For more detail about how she wrote the story, and why, read this interview – Q&A with Aisha Saeed.

This book is about resistance and about not giving up. That’s a message that a lot of people are connecting to as well. – Aisha Saeed.

We learn a bit about Pakistani culture from Amal Unbound. Was there anything which surprised you?

Did the beautiful cover portray the contents?

# Recommended for 10-15 year olds.

Perspectives – And the Ocean was our Sky

Linda J

Patrick Ness, the author of ‘a Monster Calls‘ and ‘the Chaos Walking‘ trilogy,  is known for looking at things from a different perspective – so the inverted point of view in ‘And the Ocean was our Sky‘ should come as no surprise.

It is a tale told from the point of view of Bathsheba. Who or what Bathsheba is, takes a while for the reader to determine. However, when this comes about, it really turns your thoughts upside down.

Thankfully, there is some revelation of the setting in the beautiful illustrations of Rovina Cai. These play an integral part of the story, creating a time to pause and reflect on the events in the text. They are also a  reminder that different worldviews exist; their swirling colours echo the turbulence of the tale. (Warning: some of these may upset young readers.)

Key character Bathsheba reluctantly works as an apprentice under Captain Alexandra, in brutal battles against their foe. She bemoans that she never wished to be a hunter, and it becomes clear that her acute thinking skills will come to the fore. She constantly questions the morality and reasons for their obsessive searches for the devil known as ‘Toby Wick’, and their aggressive hunt for ‘man-ships’.

‘And the Ocean was our Sky‘ begins with ‘Call me Bathsheba…’ – a line that mimics one from Herman Melville’s famous ‘Moby Dick’. Indeed, there are many clever nods to this famous tale – now told by Ness from a far different perspective, where the hunted becomes the hunter! Ness has also made some interesting choices when naming characters like Bathsheba, Alexandra, Demetrius and Wilhelmina – the work of a master craftsman, don’t you think?

The story questions the things which we may use to justify our actions, emotions and prejudices. Should there be a never-ending war, just because “So it has been, so it shall always be.”? Is the enemy real or a myth? Do we keep enemies in our minds without really knowing why? Can moral choice instead override the historical biases laid on a culture? Must Bathsheba continue to follow in her assigned role forever?

Below, Patrick Ness introduces his book:

 # This was read as an audiobook – but fortunately with the beautifully illustrated copy on hand. This was definitely a time where the physical book was essential!! 

## ‘A Monster Calls‘ was previously reviewed here.