Wanting Mor / Jameela
Author: Rukshana Khan
Wanting Mor
Jameela and her family live in a poor, war-torn village in Afghanistan. Even with her cleft lip and lack of educational opportunities, Jameela feels relatively secure, sustained by her Muslim faith and the love of her mother, Mor. But when Mor dies, Jameela’s father impulsively decides to start a new life in Kabul. Jameela is appalled as he succumbs to alcohol and drugs, then suddenly remarries, a situation that soon has her a virtual slave to a demanding stepmother. After she’s discovered trying to learn to read, Jameela is abandoned in a busy market, eventually landing in an orphanage run by the same army that killed so many members of her family. Throughout it all, the memory of her mother sustains her, giving Jameela the strength to face her father and stepmother when fate brings them together again. Inspired by a true story, and set in a world far removed from that of Western readers, this powerful novel reveals that the desire for identity and self-understanding is universal.
Country of origin: Pakistan
Year of publication: 2009
Published by: Groundwood Books
Book Awards:
Winner of the 2009 Middle East Book Award (Youth Fiction Category)
USBBY Outstanding International Books List
IRA Notable Books for a Global Society
Nominated for 2010/2011 Hackmatack Award
Nominated for 2010 National IODE Violet Downey Award
Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books 2010 starred selection
If you liked this book, try:
Big Red Lollipop (2010)
New Life (2009)
Many Windows (2008)
Silly Chicken (2005)
Ruler of the Courtyard (2003)
King of the Skies (2001)
Muslim Child (1999)
Dahling, If you Luv Me Would You Please, Please Smile (1999)
The Roses in My Carpets(1998)
Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk