Beneath My Mother's Feet

By Qamar, Amjed

Publishers Summary:
"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.

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ISBN
978-1-41694-728-8
Publisher
Atheneum


REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Reviewed on July 1, 2008

Gr 7-10 After her father's work injury and her older brother's disappearance, 14-year-old Nazia is pulled from school to join her mother for exhausting and humiliating work cleaning houses in modern-day Karachi. This change of status jeopardizes the girl's arranged marriage with her cousin back in their native village. Reminded by her mother of the Prophet Muhammad's words, "All children know that the gates of heaven lie beneath their mother's feet," Nazia...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Horn Book Magazine

Reviewed on September 1, 2008

Fourteen-year-old Nazia's future in Karachi, Pakistan, is clearly laid out for her—school, then marriage to a cousin, at which point her mother-in-law will become the one giving orders instead of her mother. That path changes abruptly when Nazia's father loses his job and her older brother steals her all-important dowry. Nazia and...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Horn Book Guide

Reviewed on January 1, 2008

After fourteen-year-old Nazia's father loses his job, she and her mother must clean houses. The plot unfolds smoothly as Nazia ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

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