Beneath My Mother's Feet (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781416947288)

"Our lives will always be in the hands of our mothers, whether we like it or not."

Nazia doesn't mind when her friends tease and call her a good beti, a dutiful daughter. Growing up in a working-class family in Karachi, Pakistan, Nazia knows that obedience is the least she can give to her mother, who has spent years saving and preparing for her dowry. But every daughter must grow up, and for fourteen-year-old Nazia that day arrives suddenly when her father gets into an accident at work, and her family finds themselves without money for rent or food.

Being the beti that she is, Nazia drops out of school to help her mother clean houses, all the while wondering when she managed to lose control of her life that had been full of friends and school. Working as a maid is a shameful obligation that could be detrimental to her future -- after all, no one wants a housekeeper for a daughter-in-law. 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.

Author: Amjed Qamar
ISBN-10: 1416947280
ISBN-13: 9781416947288
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Published: 06/17/2008
Pages: 208
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.67lbs
Size: 8.55h x 5.65w x 0.81d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.9
Point Value: 8
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 122750 / Beneath My Mother's Feet

Award: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Nominee

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 05/15/2008 pg. 554
School Library Journal 07/01/2008 pg. 106
Booklist 08/01/2008 pg. 58
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2008 pg. 595
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 10/01/2008 pg. 41 - Recommended
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2008
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2009 - Superior,Well Above Average
Multicultural Review 03/01/2009 pg. 85