Beneath My Mother’s Feet
I just finished my first book, Beneath My Mother’s Feet. It’s the story of a Pakistani girl, Nazia, who must leave school to help her mother clean houses after her father gets hurt in an accident. She has been promised to her cousin in marriage, but when her dowry is stolen, her chances for marriage are all but diminished. Her father, along with her brother, do nothing to help the family’s distress. In fact, they each add to it. Nazia, along with her mother are strong female characters. Nazia, doesn’t realize until the end just how strong her mother is. And in the end, Nazia’s strength and independence triumph.
This book shows the stark realities of poverty in Pakistan and the mother-child relationship is vividly described through the characters’ actions. The author also adds definitions to a list of words at the end of the book, which helped me much better understand the story.
This would be a great book for lots of different conversations with middle school students (especially girls)…cultural differences, mother/daughter relationships, standing up for what you believe in, the importance of an education, persevering through difficult times, etc.
I’ve gotten 3 1/2 hours of reading in for the 48 hour book challenge. I don’t think I’ll be winning any prizes, but I’m having fun. I’ll post later on about my trip to Cover to Cover this morning. For those of you who know me, you know it’s dangerous when I go to a book store. It’s really dangerous when I go with a bunch of other book lovers who hand over one book after another for me to check out!
