Act of Faith by Kelly Gardiner

Act of Faith is a book about books, about freedom, and about friendship. It’s an adventure story set in an era when ideas were dangerous and many books were banned: 

when an educated young woman was not only unusual but sometimes feared. 

A novel for young adults, it traces the story of Isabella Hawkins as she travels across Europe in search of a place where writers are free to publish, women are able to work, 

and people are free to dream.

Publisher blurb: A story of faith, intrigue and adventure in 17th-century Europe. Ages 14+

When ideas were dangerous, one girl found the courage to act. England, 1640. Sixteen-year-old Isabella is forced to flee her home when her father's radical ideas lead him into a suicidal stand against Oliver Cromwell's army. taking refuge in Amsterdam and desperate to find a means to survive, Isabella finds work with an elderly printer, Master de Aquila, and his enigmatic young assistant, Willem. When Master de Aquila travels to Venice to find a publisher brave enough to print his daring new book, Isabella accompanies him and discovers a world of possibility - where women work alongside men as equal partners, and where books and beliefs are treasured. But in a continent torn apart by religious intolerance, constant danger lurks for those who don't watch their words. And when the agents of the Spanish Inquisition kidnap de Aquila to stop him printing his book, Isabella and Willem become reluctant allies in a daring chase across Europe to rescue him from certain death.

Act of Faith was published in 2011 but it is still available. Here is an interview with the author about the inspiration for her book. You can read a sample of this book on the publisher page. This timeline will help you identify the major historical events that link to the setting of this book. Here are some very detailed teachers notes and discussion questions. 

Read this review for a very detailed account of the plot. 

Awards

• Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Australian Book 2012.
• Highly commended, Australian Society of Authors’ Barbara Jefferis Awards 2012
• Shortlist, 2012 Gold Inky Award
• Shortlist, Ethel Turner Prize, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

The cover of this book caught my eye as I was assisting with a library stocktake (inventory) in a local school. This is not really a book for readers in a Primary School - it will better suit Young Adult readers aged 13+ mainly because it covers a complex period of world history around 1640; the print is very small; and there are some graphic details of executions. 

Here is the sequel from 2013

Bookseller blurb for The Sultan's Eyes: It’s 1648, and Isabella has made a home for herself in Venice, safe from the clutches of the Inquisition. She, her friend Willem, and their mentor, the irascible Signora Contarini, work together as printers and publishers. Their publishing house is famous throughout Europe for one title: The Sum of All Knowledge, a revolutionary book of history and philosophy that has brought them - yet again - to the attention of the authorities. Then Isabella’s nemesis, Fra Clement, is appointed Inquisitor in Venice, and vows to stamp out heretical printing. Isabella knows she will no longer be safe in the city, and, guided by their learned cartographer Al-Qasim, the three friends make their escape to the one place they feel sure Fra Clement will never follow: the fabled city of Constantinople, now ruled by the Ottoman Empire. 

They are greeted as esteemed guests, in a city where beautiful books are still written and illustrated by hand, and mechanised printing is frowned upon. Isabella and Signora Contarini are welcomed into the royal household, ruled by the all-powerful Queen Mother, Kösem, in the name of her grandson, the child-Sultan Mehmet IV, who lives in the Palace’s legendary Golden Cage. Isabella quickly becomes friends with the boy king and his elder sister and acts as Mehmet’s eyes: she reads to him and teaches them both the languages of antiquity and of Europe. Engrossed in her duties, she doesn’t at first notice that Willem is besotted with a young slave girl called Suraiya - or that Signora Contarini and Al-Qasim are involved in an underground movement to bring the printing press to the Ottoman Empire. And none of them notice the mysterious foreigners who follow their every move. For the famous Sultanate of Women is far from serene. Court politics and an impending war with Europe place Isabella and her friends in danger - from forces within the Golden Cage, and beyond.

Adult readers who enjoyed The Dictionary of Lost Words might also enjoy Act of Faith.

Stitched Up by Steve Cole

Hanh is sold by her parents to two strangers who offer her a good job as a shop assistant in distant Hanoi. She and other girls from her village are taken to the city but that's when all the promises are broken. They are locked inside a factory, fed only rice, they are only allowed to use the bathroom twice a day, and all of them are forced to work in very dangerous factory conditions manufacturing jeans for the fast fashion industry. Perfectly good denim is distressed by sandblasting. Fabrics are dropped into vats of dangerous chemicals. Machines are used to press creases into the legs of the pants. And embellishments are added by machine and by hand. The young overseer girl wields a stick and she beats any child who does not perform their tasks quickly. Quotas, money and greed drive this industry. Reading this book will most certainly make you reconsider that next purchase of fast fashion.

The story does have a resolution but clearly Hanh will be damaged for the rest of her life and her parents suffer from the most dreadful guilt. They never did receive the promised money. In this book you can read about modern slavery and organisations who are working to rescue children like Hanh and her friends. There is also an afterword about ways to avoid fast fashion. I had no idea 8,000 litres of water are used to make one pair of jeans 

This book is from the Barrington Stoke (Dyslexia friendly) book series. They produce books for all ages and this one is most certainly a Young Adult title for mature readers aged 12+.

You're going to read about the processes which go into the manufacture of garments such as the jeans. They're complex and require a great deal of skill. Hanh and the other girls get just two poor meals a day and are allowed only two toilet breaks. Violence is commonplace - and vicious. No account is taken of any illnesses or injuries: the girls are, after all, expendable. It's a dreadful situation but Steve Coles tells the story with sensitivity and compassion but still manages not to shy away from the brutal truth about why fast-fashion clothes are so cheap. BookBag

Children who are passionate about social justice are sure to devour this book. Scope for Imagination

In the context of a High School this book could be used in many different ways. If your school runs a social justice program this book explores modern slavery. This book is also about textile manufacturing and in particular 'trendy' jeans with distressed fabrics, rips and tears and embellishments and so it could be used in Design and Tech. If you have a group of students exploring the UN Rights of the child this book could be added to a wide reading list.

Here are all the titles in this series by Steve Cole:

I would pair Stitched up with these books:

Amal Unbound

Thirst by Varska Bajaj

If you plan to book talk this book with your students, I suggest you begin with the cover. Try to put this image up on a big screen and then look closely at all the details. We see a young girl in a school uniform holding two large clay jugs. She is looking at a ramshackle city of makeshift buildings but there is also a high-rise apartment tower in the distance. We cannot see the girl's face but the way she is standing seems to imply emotion and longing. Notice the extra words on the cover too - "Imagine a world where water is for everyone ..."  Surely that will shock your students and generate some good discussion. Colby Sharp suggests you then try to find images of modern-day Mumbai with your students so they can see the juxtaposition of high-rise buildings and the shanty towns beside them. Here is one I found. 

Minni lives in Mumbai and every day is a struggle for her family. Water is not readily available. Every day adults and children have to till their containers at communal taps and often the water only comes through as a trickle. Worse, this water is contaminated and so it is essential to boil and filter it before drinking. Minni's mum became quite ill last year from drinking the water.

Mumbai is a city of rich and the desperately poor. The rich have taps that provide cold and hot water in their own homes - they even have swimming pools filled with water. 

The monsoon is late and water is becoming even more difficult to obtain. Then Minni, her brother and another young friend witness someone stealing water - taking this precious resource with the intention to sell it to the poor of the city at highly inflated prices. Her brother and his friend have been seen by the criminals so they are whisked away to safety far from the city. Then Minni's mother becomes very ill and so she leaves to recover in the home of her sister - also far away. Minni's mother works as a servant to a rich family in one of those high-rise apartments. Her mother needs this work and so Minni is sent in her place. You will gasp with Minni when she steps inside the luxury apartment and sees carpet, and water, and possessions beyond her wildest imagination. After working for the family for many weeks, the rich father arrives home one evening. Minni only glimpsed the men stealing the water, but she recognises him straight away. How can young kids convince the authorities that they have found the water thieves - the water mafia?

This is a fairly short novel with 179 pages but it is such a powerful story. Readers will hopefully gain and understanding of life in other places and feel enormous empathy towards young Minni. It might also give them a small insight into the importance of education as a way to move out of poverty. Here is the webpage of the author. Be sure to read the "about me" section. I highly recommend Thirst - you should add this to your Primary library wish list. 

In this poignant, relatable work, Bajaj expertly depicts class and wealth differences; Minni’s worries for her mother and anger at the injustices inflicted on her community are especially moving. Kirkus

Colby Sharp - awesome, heartbreaking, read this book!

Thirst was a 2022 Global Read Aloud book. 

Here is a video of Chapter One.

Awars for Thirst:

• Texas Bluebonnet Master list 2023-2024
• Amazon Best Books of 2022
• Cynsations Best books of 2022
• Cybils 2022 Middle Grade Fiction Finalist
• Global Read Aloud, Middle Grade selection for 2022
• Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection

Companion books

Ajay and the Mumbai Sun

Ajay and the Jaipur Moon

A Long Walk to Water

The Paper House

One Wish by M.O. Yuksel illustrated by Mariam Quaraishi

One wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World's Oldest University

"Fatima knew the best way to help her community was to build a school where students, especially the poor and the refugees, could live and study for free."

I can hear the founder of IBBY - Jella Lempman cheering over these words. And these words too:

"Fatima knew her school was like planting a single seed that would continuously bloom with each student who studied there. Her school, which was also a mosque and a library, opened its arms ready to serve the community."

I hope this amazes you when I tell you Fatima built her school in the year 859. That's 1200 years ago! In 1963 it became part of the Moroccan state university system. 

My wish is that every library could have a rich collection of biographies such as this one which comes from the exceptionally well-stocked school library I visit each week. Every time I read one of the biography titles from this library, I learn something new and amazing and this one - One Wish - is no exception. These hardcover biography titles are somewhat expensive but I think they are a good investment. If you have students in your school with a Muslim background this book is one you should seriously consider purchasing. There are extensive end notes in this book with a bibiography, timeline, author's note and glossary.

Read more about Fatima al-Fihri:

• Teach Mideast
• Bright Insight
• Odyssey Traveller

Take a look at this biography picture book Pinterest. 

Read this interview with Mr Schu about One Wish. The illustrator says:

Nonfiction picture books are a window into history and an introduction to unknown heroes like Fatima al-Fihri and other ordinary people who have contributed to humanity in extraordinary ways; heroes who have illuminated our world and continue to do so even to this day.

And the author says:

Writing biographies or becoming an author was not on my radar at the time but Fatima was a personal hero I kept tucked away in my heart. When I began writing picture books in 2015 as a result of seeing a gap in the marketplace for Muslim voices, that’s when Fatima al-Fihri and my desire to write a biography about her surfaced. We need stories about women who have changed the world for the better, especially stories about underrepresented women who are often stereotyped, misunderstood, and maligned in our current society.

An inspiring profile of a tenacious trailblazer that highlights the power of knowledge. Kirkus

Who could not love a book about a girl whose first spoken word was “read”? Add this biography to any collection looking to be well rounded when it comes to women’s history. School Library Journal

Brother's Keeper Julie Lee

"Let me give you some advice. You won't have much of a future as an orphan girl. Your only saving grace is your brother; at least he is a son who can carry on your family name and support you once he has grown. Take care to of him; put his needs before your own. That's how you survive in this world."

War arrives in North Korea. Sora Pak, her father Abahji and mother Omahni, baby brother Jisoo and younger brother Youngsoo live in fear of punishment or banishment by the communist regime. There are informers everywhere. The family have hidden their precious bible and they only speak against the authorities with their closest friends the Kim family. Mr and Mrs Kim tell Sora's parents they are planning to leave and take their son Myung-gai and daughter Yoomee and head to South Korea to the town of Busan.  At first the Pak family think this will be too dangerous they even try to hide Abahji in a hole in their field but then things escalate and they now have to flee. 

Sora is told to look after her brother Youngsoo. Her mother says - he is your responsibility. Sora has no idea how these words will impact her life. The family are separated early in the journey and Sora is left with just her brother and a 300 mile destination. The journey is arduous and treacherous; the siblings have no food, and survive mainly by finding kimchi hidden in abandoned farmhouses  But Sora is a very intelligent girl and she is a survivor. 

Sora must get herself and her eight-year-old brother, Youngsoo, to South Korea alone--across rivers, over mountains, around enemy soldiers and border guards, and even through Pyongyang itself, all while staving off frostbite and starvation. Can two children survive three hundred miles of war zone in winter? Julie Lee

Since this is loosely based on her own mother's experience, the notes and photographs about this make this story even more powerful. There are so many good things about this book that it's hard to list them all. Even the cover is excellent! Ms Yingling

A journey of wartime survival parallels the strength Sora needs to fight for her own dreams. Kirkus Star review

Anyone labouring under the delusion that historical fiction is dull will be disabused of that notion after reading this book.  There is plenty of action and suspense.  Sora is a fascinating protagonist: she’s smart and dreams of a future as a teacher or writer, yet still wants her parents’ approval and tries to be a good daughter (which means giving up school to take care of her brothers). Kids Book a Day

This book is for mature readers aged 11+ and I do need to warn you (spoiler alert) the ending is not a fairy tale. The words "and they all lived happily ever after" do not apply to this book. This is a long book 300 pages but I was totally engrossed in the story and desperate for the two children to survive. The scene when they finally climb on board a train is quite harrowing and may distress some readers. Sora takes such good care of her brother and so the scolding she receives from her mother when they do arrive in Busan is utterly dreadful. 

Awards:

• 2020 Freeman Book Award Winner 
• 2021 International Literacy Association Children's and Young Adults' Book Award Winner
• 2020 Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist
• 2021 ALA Notable Children's Book
• Junior Library Guild Selection
• 2021 ALA Rise Selection
• 2021 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year - with Outstanding Merit
• Kirkus Best Middle Grade Book of 2020

We meet Myung-gai Kim in the first book and his story continues in the sequel or companion book which will be published this year:

Bookseller blurb: Trapped in an enemy tunnel, a young refugee experiences the Korean War firsthand in this searing story of survival, loss, and hope, a companion to the Freeman Award-winning novel Brother's Keeper. Myung-gi knows war is coming: War between North and South Korea. Life in communist North Korea has become more and more unbearable--there is no freedom of speech, movement, association, or thought--and his parents have been carefully planning the family's escape. But when his father is abducted by the secret police, all those plans fall apart. How can Myung-gi leave North Korea without his dad? Especially when he believes that the abduction was his fault? Set during a cataclysmic war which shaped the world we know today, this is the story of one boy's coming-of-age during a time when inhumanity, lawlessness, and terror reigned supreme. With only each other, Myung-gi, his mother, and his twelve-year-old sister Yoomee do everything they can to protect one another. But gentle, quiet, bookish Myung-gi has plans to find his father at any cost--even if it means joining the army and being sent to the front lines, where his deepest fears await him.

You might also look for these

Running on the Roof of the World

We are Wolves

Dear Girl by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Paris Rosenthal illustrated by Holly Hatam

"Keep that arm raised! You have smart things to say!"

"Dear Girl, Write down your thoughts once in a while even if it's just to enjoy the way your pen feels against the paper."

"Dear Girl, Listen to your brave side."

"Dear Girl, A tree trunk is the perfect place for quiet thoughts to be thunk."

If you are looking for a beautiful gift for a new baby girl then look no further than this glorious book. Or you could gift this to your own daughter or niece. Or perhaps just buy this book for yourself as a reminder that you are special and important and unique. 

Here are other books in the series by Amy Krouse Rosenthal's daughter Paris:

Here is the web site for the illustrator Holly Hatam where you can see the book trailer. Here are some activities you could explore.  If you have time take a look at this TED Talk by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and also read more about the Amy Krouse Rosenthal Foundation. 

Sadly Amy Krouse Rosenthal died in 2017.  Kirkus said: The pages may be tinged with sadness now that Amy Krouse Rosenthal has passed, but the message of tender protection is strong and clear.

As the book proceeds, the reader feels in the presence of sophisticated thinking aimed at the loftiest of questions: How to be a person, a full person, above and beyond what the world’s real or imagined expectations may be of any of us. The advice will strike children, and parents, with a real sense of authenticity and urgency, and conversations will grow from repeated readings. The Children's Book Review

I am not sure you would need or want this but there is a doll of the girl in this book:

Here is a fairly new Australian picture book you could read alongside Dear Girl:

The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by Sophie Blackall

A luminous tale of fate, love and the power of words

Beatryce is found in a barn nestling beside a goat. This is not just any goat. Her name is Answelica and she has a reputation as a bossy, belligerent creature who usually butts people out of her way. She also has fierce teeth. The young girl has been found by Brother Edik. He is a monk from the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Brother Edik is a kind man even though in his own life he has had his own share of suffering. 

Have you ever given much thought the idea of a prophecy. The book called Chronicles of Sorrowing contains prophecies. Some are good and some are bad.  The king has heard this prophecy:

"There will one day come a girl child who will unseat a king and bring about a great change."

If you go back to my quote at the beginning of this post I mentioned the power of words. In the prophecy there are several very important words. Obviously the dangerous character will be a girl but what of the king. The words say "a king".  Who is this king? Is he the rightful monarch?

And why is a girl considered dangerous? What power could she possibly have? Read on my friend.

Back to the story. Beatryce is injured. Answelica will not leave her side so the pair are bought inside the monastery. Brother Edik gently cares for Beatryce and eventually she recovers enough to tell him her name but the rest of her memory is lost for now. Beatryce has no idea how she came to be found at the monastery but there is deeper mystery - the astonishing discovery by Brother Edik, that Beatryce can read and write.

"Only brothers in service to God could read, and also the tutors and scholars who came and studied the prophecies. And counsellors to the king. And the king himself. In the whole of the world ... there was only a handful of people who could read. All of them male. None of them were female. It was against the law to teach a girl to read, or a woman to write."

So the stage is set. Beatryce has a destiny to fulfil. The current king is determined to stop her. Brother Edik will be her travelling companion as will the goat Answelica. Along the way Beatryce will make new friends, a young boy called Jack Dory and an old man called Cannoc, and she will gradually remember all the pieces of her past life. 

Readers will also be given, from time to time, small glimpses into the machinations of the king and his power hungry adviser until eventually we reach their anticipated but also surprising meeting. 

In keeping with the medieval setting, Sophie Blackall has included an illuminated letter at the beginning of each chapter and there is one also hiding under the dust jacket. 

Sophie has designed end papers which are printed on a rich gold background and inside her black and white full page illustrations seems almost cinematic. When you finish reading this book take some time to linger over and marvel at the cover. Beatryce has something to share with you - she's looking straight at the reader inviting you to enter her story. You can read the first 48 pages of this book here. 

"We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong.

We shall all, in the end, find out way home."

I read that an edition of this book has been released in a special box with a ribbon book mark (it costs over $75 here in Australia but if you are tempted here is the Gift edition ISBN 9781536218671). When ribbons like this are added to a book they make it seem extra special and I think this anticipates the fact the The Beatryce Prophecy is destined to become a Children's Literature classic. I read this book in one sitting. I did not want it to end but when it did I smiled a huge smile because, as usual, Kate DiCamillo has penned a glorious story filled with tiny details which feel like glistening jewels and which are all brought together at the end into one truly special object to treasure.

You MUST listen to this Podcast interview with Kate from The Children's Book Review. 

Here is a quote from the interview:

My outrageous hope … that somebody will feel less alone, that they feel like they’re walking through the world with somebody, and that it will help. The book will help to make some more sense out of the world. Kate DiCamillo

I just loved spending time in that world, even though it’s a world in which lots of bad and dangerous and sad and troubling things happen. There is this light of hope and joy and overcoming obstacles and friendship and love and forgiveness and all of these things that Kate does so beautifully and mesmerizingly ... Sophie Blackall Children's Book Review interview

The story is told in language as clear and beautiful as an illuminated manuscript, with characters who spring instantly to life. The fairy-tale conventions give it a sense of timelessness and omnipresence without once becoming twee or unwieldy. Kirkus Star review

It is, in short, a very good book, worth any kid’s time to read. And that, my dears, is the kind of book that you should probably read too. Betsy Bird School Library Journal

I love it when the book itself shows how important reading is and how important words are, how words and reading connect us to the world and how, ultimately, through education, we can begin to make wiser choices. The Children's Book Review interviewer - Bianca Schulze

A final wise word from Kate about books and reading (one of the important themes of The Beatryce Prophecy):

And the other thing is, having somebody reading to you seems like such an act of love to me. So, I just want to say thank you to everybody who puts a book in somebody else’s hand and everybody who’s reading to somebody. That goes for kids too. I say, when I talk to kids, you can read to the adults in your life. They need it too, you know.

Companion read:

The Book of Boy

You might also like to explore some books involving journeys, young and very brave girls, wise mothers who may be imprisoned, and helpful travelling companions:

The Wolf Wilder

The Forest of Moon and Sword

Fire Girl

Girl of the Southern Sea by Michelle Kadarusman

"All you see is a poor girl ... A girl without power of choices. But you are wrong. 

I am here to live a different story. I am here to write my own story."

Nia has lost her mother and her father has begun drinking heavily to ease his grief. Nia, young brother Rudi and her father live in poverty. Each week it is a desperate struggle to find enough money for their rent payment and food. Nia's father has a small food cart from which he makes fried bananas to sell near the busy railway station. 

Nia is a clever girl. She longs to continue her education and move onto High School but this costs money and now that her father has stopped earning money due to an accident she has to leave school and attend to the food cart. 

Nia loves to tell stories and these are woven into this book. Her stories are about Dewi Kadita, Princess of the Southern Sea and are based on Javanese folktales.

Her life takes a strange turn when Nia is involved in a mini bus accident. While others are badly hurt and one boy is killed, Nia walks away uninjured. A witness to this incident - Mr Oskar a local tailor - declares Nia is now a special girl and that buying her fried bananas will bring good luck. Long queues form as people jostle to buy from her stall. Some what unwisely Nia increases her price and money begins to flow in but it is very clear this enterprise is doomed. Meanwhile her father has disappeared and Nia and her brother are struggling. Oskar, who keeps hanging around, also has his own, shocking reasons, for wanting to befriend Nia. 

It is a sharp and politically attuned work that will give readers further appreciation for the value of access to education, health care, and justice. Quill and Quire

A thought-provoking peek into a culture ... Kirkus

Here is an alternate cover. Which do you like best?

I have had such a feast of wonderful reading this week - Talking to Alaska by Anna Wolta (due out in July); Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim; Beyond Belief by Dee White; and Haywire by Claire Saxby and now I add Girl of the Southern Sea to this list.

I do need to give a violence warning for The Girl of the Southern Sea. The publisher lists this book as suitable for ages 9-13. Once again, as I often seem to do lately, I disagree. In my view this is a book for mature readers aged 11+. There is a horrific scene in this book when the crowd discover Nia is not "a lucky charm" as they had been led to believe. The mob hurl stones at her and then she is doused in kerosene. Nia survives but the horror and raw hatred of this scene lingers with me (an adult reader) many days later. 

Michelle Kadarusman lives in Canada but she was born in Melbourne. She is the author of The Theory of Hummingbirds.

Companion reads:

The Paper House

Amal Unbound

Homeless Bird

A house without walls by Elizabeth Laird illustrated by Lucy Eldridge

Safiya is a young girl living in Syria. Her family are forced to flee to Jordan. Safiya has a complex past. Her mother died when she was a baby. Safiya is a twin but her twin sister Saba was taken away when the babies were just a few weeks old. Safiya has never seen Saba who is supposed to be living with relatives in America but in Jordan, Safiya discovers Saba. Uncle Hassan and Aunt Israa have moved back to Jordan and are living in a nearby city.

Safiya is a very resourceful girl. She knows the name of the company where her uncle works. She has been extraordinarily lucky to get some work in a Beauty Salon helping with paper work and answering the telephone. This gives her access to a computer and a telephone, Safiya cleverly phones up the company where her uncle works and spins a tale about a delivery of flowers for Saba. The unwitting receptionist at Askil International supplies an address so now she can surely find her long lost twin sister. 

This fragment of information is vital but Safiya is living in a tent. She is a girl in a Muslim community so she is expected to cook and clean and keep silent. Basic care of herself, her father and brother is very difficult.  They have hardly any money. She is not allowed to travel alone and while her Baba (father) does love her he cannot talk to Safiya about the death of her mother or the loss of her twin sister.  She really has no one to turn to for advice. Safiya is sure her twin will recognise her and that they will immediately become firm friends. This is an important dream which keeps Safiya buoyant with hope but sadly this is really only a dream and the reality is far harsher than she could ever have anticipated.

The strength of this book comes from Safiya herself and from the vivid descriptions of her struggles living in the tent.

"The only thing I knew how to make was pasta with tomato sauce, but it was going to be horribly difficult doing it on a little gas burner outside by the water tank where I'd made a sort of kitchen space. I had to squat on the ground because we didn't have a table, and cut up the onions on a plate with a blunt knife."

"Sweeping out the tent was the next job, and the one I hated most. Masses of dirt crept into the tent every day and grit got caught in the woven matting, even though we always took off our shoes when we came in and left them by the open flap. It took forever to clean up."

There are some extraordinary moments of kindness in this book. The grocery man across the street gives Safiya "stale" cakes and he orgainses a monthly charity food box. The owner of the beauty salon gives Safiya a prettier hijab printed with pale blue flowers. Her uncle Malik joins the family. He is skilled with his hands and repairs and builds things for their tent helping Safiya to make their small space so much more comfortable.

The illustrations in this book by Lucy Eldridge are perfect.

Why will no-one tell her anything about her dead mother?Will she ever find her lost twin sister? Is she being set up for an unwished-for early marriage? Chapters often end on these or other urgent questions still hanging in the air, hopefully to be answered in the next. This is story-telling at its most skilled and experienced. Books for Keeps

Here are some background notes about this book. I have always loved the storytelling of Elizabeth Laird in books such as Secret Friends and The Lost Riders. I also highly recommend you search out Oranges in No Man's Land.

I would pair a House without walls with No Ballet shoes in Syria and The Night Diary.

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

There were several moments in this book when I simply gasped. The cruelty, the betrayal, the way Amal's dreams are completely crushed.

"My mother's voice told me to let this go. Something was off with this man. Let him have the fruit and walk away. But all I could see was the red pomegranate and how he grasped it in his palm as though it was already his.

I thought of my father, who had no time for my dreams. My little sisters and their endless demands. Suddenly I felt was tired. Tired of feeling powerless. Tired of denying my own needs because someone else needed something more. Including this man. This stranger."

These quotes are a good way to explore Amal Unbound. Amal goes to the market and buys the last pomegranate.  Her family are very poor. Amal has three sisters and a new baby is due to arrive soon. Everyone is hoping for a boy but Amal could never have anticipated the enormous disappointment for her mother and father when the new baby arrives - a girl. Amal loves school and she excels at her lessons. She has the dream of becoming a teacher herself one day. In the small village where Amal lives everyone is afraid of the Khan family, nearly everyone is in debit to them and they are especially frightened of Jawad Sahib. He is the man who nearly ran Amal over in his large car. He is the man holding her pomegranate. He is the man with the power to completely overturn Amal's life and dreams.

A few days after the incident with the pomegranate, Jawad Sahib arrives and to take Amal. She will be taken to his house to work as a slave. Amal's father has no money and he is in debt to this powerful and cruel man and his father Khan Sahib.

In the house Amal finds a friend and a serious enemy. Luckily she is ordered to work for Khan Sahib's wife Nasreen Baji but this means Nabila, another servant, has been displaced. Her cruel tricks, which have terrible consequences for Amal, will linger with me for a long time.

The wonderful ending will make you cheer not just because justice is served but because this outcome is the direct result of the education that Amal has had. Because she can read she can make sense of the injustices of the Khan family and she can also identify their crime.

Here are a set of teachers notes from the publisher - they are excellent. You can also read the first 20+ pages of Amal Unbound. Listen to an audio sample here. Here are a set of discussion points. I highly recommend this book for mature readers aged 11+.

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. Kirkus Star review

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

Amal Unbound is a powerful page-turner about one girl's courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Kids’ Book Review

Reading this type of book, as well as historical fiction, is a great way for young readers to understand that the entire world is not exactly the way their little corner of it is! Ms Yingling

I would follow Amal Unboud with Ibqal and any books you can find (and there are plenty to choose from) about Malala Yousafzai.

If you are visiting a library you could also look for Sold by Patricia McCormick and Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall.