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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old Amal lives in a small Punjabi village in Pakistan, where she dreams of becoming a teacher and spends stolen hours after school helping her favorite teacher, Miss Sadia. When Amal's mother falls ill after the birth of a fifth daughter, Amal is pulled from school to run the household, but she keeps up with her lessons through her younger sister Seema. Her life is upended one afternoon at the village market when she snaps back at a man who knocks her down with his car and takes her pomegranate. That man turns out to be Jawad Sahib, the feared local landlord who holds debts over nearly every family in the region, including Amal's. As punishment for disrespecting him, Jawad Sahib demands that Amal come to work as a servant on his estate to pay off her father's debts, and Amal must leave her family, her school, and everything she has ever known.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Amal Unbound
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Amal Unbound. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a midwife congratulate a father by telling him he is now "a father five times over"?
✓ Answer
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Raheela Bibi, the village midwife, delivers the news after the new baby arrives. The father's hope for a son is dashed when he learns it is another daughter, an outcome that crushes both parents in front of the narrator.
- First half
In what book does a girl quietly burn a silk shalwar kamiz with an iron to frame the new servant?
✓ Answer
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Nabila scorches one of Nasreen Baji's silk outfits to make it look like the narrator ruined it during ironing. Nasreen later reveals she figured out the truth and quietly handled the person responsible, but it deepens the rivalry between the two girls.
- First half
In what book is a girl caught with a heavy dictionary in a landlord's private library and accused of stealing?
✓ Answer
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Jawad Sahib catches the narrator holding a heavy black dictionary in his library and accuses her of stealing books to sell. When she explains that she has been quietly borrowing and returning them, he is surprised to learn she can read and write, and lets her off with a warning.
- Second half
In what book is a servant girl taken on a two-hour trip to a sari shop in Lahore?
✓ Answer
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
When the landlord's mother needs a shopping companion, she chooses the narrator. The trip exposes the girl to Lahore's bazaars, crowds, and protests for the first time.
- Second half
In what book does a returning daughter race past the rosebushes and through a creaking worn front door?
✓ Answer
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
After months away, the narrator runs from the car the moment her village comes into view. The familiar rosebushes and creaking door mark her first true homecoming.
- Near the end
In what book does a teacher tell a frightened girl that making choices that scare you is bravery?
✓ Answer
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Asif responds to her insistence that she is not brave, just out of options. His definition of courage as acting despite fear becomes a guiding idea for her actions.
