All I can say is, wow, is this really life for some women around in the world? I loved how it showed that no matter our material circumstances, there are always choices we can make. ( )

I liked the book a lot. It was surprising the way men in Pakistan were portrayed, not at all when I have read in other books. I was a little disappointed that they plight of the gatekeeper was not set to rest. But the author ended the book well. I was glad the mother was redeemed in the end. ( )

Whilst this book gave an interesting insight into the life, culture and limitations placed on girls living in Pakistan, I found the plot fairly slow and struggled to connect with the main character. I'm not sure that this book will have wide appeal to readers despite it's eye-catching front cover. ( )

Highly Recommended

Nazia is fourteen years old and her family is fairly well off in Karachi, Pakistan. He father supports the family and Nazia attends school and is getting ready for an arranged marriage. When Nazia’s father get hurt and can no longer support the family, Nazia and her mother start cleaning houses for the rich. It is a secret because Nazia would be unmarriageable with her fall from status. Another blow to Nazia happens when her older brother steals the dowry intended for her marriage and she has to rewrite her future. Nazia gets an offer from Ms. Haroon to come stay with her and Nazia agrees.

This is the author’s debut novel and is well written. She won several writing/author prizes for this book, when it was published in 2008. There are not many YA novels written by Pakistani-American women, so I think this would make a good school library addition for cultural diversity. I have a difficult time reading about girls who have no say in their life. They go to school with the eventual outcome being marriage; a marriage that the family has to pay dearly for. Reading about cultures where the females are a burden is not at the top of my list. I like that this story has a strong female character, trying to make a good life for herself. I like that she gets to make her own path in life. The reader is left with a feeling of empowerment.

I think this would be a good book for our World Studies teachers to promote Islamic culture or modern day life in Pakistan. I have a lot of books written by Indian-American women authors in my library and this might be my first Pakistani-American author. We have a large community of Muslim girls, so I think some of them would enjoy reading this book. None of the content is objectionable, so it would appeal to conservative readers. I will also share this book with our 10th grade literature teachers as they have a novel of choice assignment for immigrant American authors. We also have a Pakistani Student Association that might be interested in this book, so I will post it on their Moodle page. ( )

If there is an enemy in this book beyond endemic poverty, it’s men. Men are consistently portrayed as lazy and inconsiderate, taking wives and having daughters so the women can do all the work and they can reap all the benefit. I have no idea how accurate this is, but at least it’s coming from a woman who is at least partly inside the culture. (Full review at http://www.parenthetical.net/2011/03/04/review-beneath-my-mothers-feet-by-amjed-... ( )