Completely honored and humbled to share that AMAL UNBOUND was selected a Global Read Aloud for 2018. The most rewarding part of being an author is the chance to interact with teachers and students (once a teacher always a teacher) and so this honor of being selected for GRA2018 is a huge one for me. You can read more details about Global Read Aloud and all the other amazing books selected here.

Thrilled to share that Kirkus has given Amal Unbound a starred review! They said in part:

Saeed’s timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice.

You can read the full review here.

AMAL UNBOUND got it’s first trade review and it’s a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly!

A few excerpts:

Saeed (Written in the Stars) infuses this true-to-life story of unjust power dynamics in a poor Pakistani village with a palpable sense of dread regarding the fate of the inquisitive, industrious, poetry-loving titular character.

And:

Saeed’s eloquent, suspenseful, eye-opening tale offers a window into the contemporary practice of indentured servitude and makes a compelling case for the power of girls’ education to transform systemic injustice.

You can read the full review here!

Many many thanks to the lovely and patient and incredibly creative Diana Sousa who designed and redid my website to make it the beautiful thing you are checking out today! Thank you, Diana!  I really cannot recommend her enough, if you’re looking to get a website done or design bookmarks, etc, her portfolio is here.

I’m a pretty regular twitter user but I thought it was time to have a place for bookish related news and fun stuff so here goes a few book related updates!

• AMAL UNBOUND is a JLG selection!!

• It also sold rights in Australia/New Zealand and I am over the moon about it!
• Teen Vogue did the nicest shout out for AMAL UNBOUND you can read about here.
• Read Brightly called AMAL UNBOUND one of the eighteen most buzzed about books of 2018!
• Colby Sharp made me cry buckets with this review of AMAL UNBOUND (no spoilers).

• He also wrote a fantastic post about why pre-ordering is so important for authors and help their book and career longevity here (You can pre-order AMAL UNBOUND at your local indie, Barnes and Noble, or here.)

I cannot believe that AMAL UNBOUND is almost out in the world. If you are in the Atlanta area please come hang out at my book launch party at Little Shop of Stories at 3pm on May 12th! Details here.