author of
Beneath My Mother's Feet
................Beneath My Mother's Feet...........main page
Critic Reviews:
"...Reminiscent of Suzanne Fisher Staples's Shabanu (1989), this beautifully written depiction of life in modern Pakistan offers readers a painful and stirring view of a girl with limited choices but great inner strength."
--Kirkus Reviews (STARRED)
"...This is a book you must read, and Amjed Qamar is a new author to keep your eyes on...This is a well-paced story filled with the sights, sounds, smells, and flavors of a variety of levels of status in modern Pakistani culture. However, Nazia's struggle to choose her own path in life is, at its core, the common story of every girl on the brink of her future, every girl who must break her mother's heart by choosing a way of her own and not the one her mother has hoped and planned for all her life."
--Mary Lee Hahn, A Year of Reading
CLICK HERE TO READ AN INTERVIEW
by teacher and blogger, Mary Lee Hahn, at A Year of Reading.
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Available for purchase at:
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(STARRED REVIEW)
A JUNIOR LIBRARY
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BARNES & NOBLE
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B&N Booksellers found debut author Amjed Qamar to be one of fifteen great new writers worth discovering !
2010-2011 Choose to Read Selection
2009 Ohioana Book Award Winner
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ABOUT THE BOOK
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Nazia cannot let her family starve, but can she sacrifice her future?
Nazia is an average, modern-day fourteen-year-old Pakistani girl. She attends school, she hangs out with friends, and she’s getting ready for an arranged marriage. When her father is injured at work, the family suddenly find themselves without money for rent or food, and Nazia is forced to drop out of school to become a maid. As Nazia finds herself growing up much too quickly, the lessons of hardship that seem unbearable turn out to be a lot more liberating than she ever imagined.
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Reader Reviews:
"...Nazia is my hero. I am going to read this book out loud to my girls. Honestly, I couldn't put this book down. I love her character. I felt so sorry for her, happy for her, proud of her, sad for her.... I want the sequel! Is she for real? I love this girl. I am so
proud of her for being the strong girl she became throughout the book. She was her mother's daughter, her own person. I loved how dutiful she was but also became her own person. I am also so interested in Pakistani culture and how it is somewhat like American in some ways. The women I mean, we all are suffering the same. Men are the same in many cultures and religions. Very interesting..."
I want a sequel.
--Martha
"Love a story that can vividly take you on location? This book will completely envelope every sense, to the point that you can smell the hint of mustard oil, feel the scorching sun of Karachi, Pakistan. This story completely pulls you into the life of Nazia and her family. An excellent read! "
--M. Elkins (Amazon)
