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أريد مور
تقع أحداث قصة الفتاة جميلة بعد فترة وجيزة من الغزو الأمريكي لأفغانستان في 2001. هي قصة خيالية، غير أنها مستمدة من واقعة حقيقية. ماتت أم جميلة بسبب المرض، وتزوج أبوها بعد أمها، غير أن زوجة الأب ما كانت تريد أن تعيش البنت معهما، ولهذا أخذها أبوها إلى السوق وتركها هناك. وانتهى المطاف بالبنت لتعيش في إحدى دور الأيتام في كابول. وهناك تكتشف جميلة أن أسوأ مكان يخطر على بالها لتعيش فيه هو البداية لأهم تحولات ونجاحات حياتها.
212 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
October 9, 2016
This book is inspired by true events. This is a powerful tale of what it is like for a young girl in Afghanistan. So hard to believe the choices people make for their own gain. I hope this story does show other young readers, the difficulties that children in another part of the world must face. I recommend this book!
February 28, 2011
Overall, I liked this book. It is reminds me of a Thousand Splendid Suns but for a younger audience. I appreciated that the author took the time at the end of the book to explain the background for her story, which stemmed from a "report issued by Afghanistan's department of orphanages". Additionally, she acknowledged the women who helped her vet the story for accuracy and cultural authenticity, who are from Kabul and Khandahar. There is an excellent glossary at the end, which I wish I ahd thought to look for early on.
This book also strikes me as enabling text in accordance with Dr. Alfred Tatum's work. While it is not a book tailored towards lives of African American teenage males, his population of interest, this story is an excellent example of a book which shows a marginalized main character in the midst of a seemingly hopeless situation able to pull through as the result of self-reliance, dogged perseverance, good decision making and education.
The main character Jameela is not without fault and is not always completely likeable, which endeared me to her all the more. I believe she is a character with whom American children could connect because while she is living a life completely different from the experiences of most American children, she deals with loss, love, and difficult friendships, common human experiences. For example, upon arriving in the orphanage, she struggles with the power structure which exists in the friendships amongst the other orphans. While she eventually earns her place among the other orphans through her actions, she is not perfect. Some books would make her automatically the nicest girl who is kind to everyone, but Jameela is actually still unkind to a young orphan girl named Arwa. I found this to be a more realistic portrayal of adolescent relationships.
This book is heavy, touching on drug abuse, war, adult drinking, religion, personal identity and more. None of it is glorified, and I believe for an interested upper middle school age student or lower high school student, this would be an excellent selection. I also see it working as part of a reading ladder related to either contemporary Afghanistan, Muslim related fiction, or women around the world. Since it is such a thick text with many layers for discussion, I also see its potential for a literature circle book.
***Added***
After some additional thought, another thing I like about this book is how it dealt with femininity in the Arab world. Sometimes when I read books about cultures different than my own, I feel that authors (particularly American authors writing about global cultures) are treating these cultures and communities with respect until there is something about that culture which offends or displeases them. I enjoyed the passages where Jameela discussed her wearing of the Chadri (or Burka) because the author treated the issue with a deep respect for the character's culture, rather than treating it as a negative or backward characteristic of a culture which is in need of remedy. Of course, as Ms. Khan is Pakistani (not Afghan as is her main character), her cultural background may have made it easier for her to portray this cultural component with this sort of deep respect rather than respect "to a point". I am not an expert on books with Muslim themes, but my limited experience as well as my knowledge related to multicultural and global literature made me feel that Ms. Khan did an excellent job of writing clearly about an issue which can spark heated conversations in the Western World.
This book also strikes me as enabling text in accordance with Dr. Alfred Tatum's work. While it is not a book tailored towards lives of African American teenage males, his population of interest, this story is an excellent example of a book which shows a marginalized main character in the midst of a seemingly hopeless situation able to pull through as the result of self-reliance, dogged perseverance, good decision making and education.
The main character Jameela is not without fault and is not always completely likeable, which endeared me to her all the more. I believe she is a character with whom American children could connect because while she is living a life completely different from the experiences of most American children, she deals with loss, love, and difficult friendships, common human experiences. For example, upon arriving in the orphanage, she struggles with the power structure which exists in the friendships amongst the other orphans. While she eventually earns her place among the other orphans through her actions, she is not perfect. Some books would make her automatically the nicest girl who is kind to everyone, but Jameela is actually still unkind to a young orphan girl named Arwa. I found this to be a more realistic portrayal of adolescent relationships.
This book is heavy, touching on drug abuse, war, adult drinking, religion, personal identity and more. None of it is glorified, and I believe for an interested upper middle school age student or lower high school student, this would be an excellent selection. I also see it working as part of a reading ladder related to either contemporary Afghanistan, Muslim related fiction, or women around the world. Since it is such a thick text with many layers for discussion, I also see its potential for a literature circle book.
***Added***
After some additional thought, another thing I like about this book is how it dealt with femininity in the Arab world. Sometimes when I read books about cultures different than my own, I feel that authors (particularly American authors writing about global cultures) are treating these cultures and communities with respect until there is something about that culture which offends or displeases them. I enjoyed the passages where Jameela discussed her wearing of the Chadri (or Burka) because the author treated the issue with a deep respect for the character's culture, rather than treating it as a negative or backward characteristic of a culture which is in need of remedy. Of course, as Ms. Khan is Pakistani (not Afghan as is her main character), her cultural background may have made it easier for her to portray this cultural component with this sort of deep respect rather than respect "to a point". I am not an expert on books with Muslim themes, but my limited experience as well as my knowledge related to multicultural and global literature made me feel that Ms. Khan did an excellent job of writing clearly about an issue which can spark heated conversations in the Western World.
March 10, 2010
A sad story about a young girl growing in Afghanistan after the wars and during American occupation of that country. It is very sad.
I read this book at the same time that I read Esperanza Rising. Both stories touched me and both had a strong female as the main character, though Jameela in Wanting Mor seemed a little stronger mostly because of the ending of the story. I would like to hope that reading these kinds of books would help girls to know that they are stronger than they think and that life's hardships can be faced head on.
I think the part in the story where Jameela witnesses her drunken father going up the stairs to the bedroom of the family they are staying with and then both her and her father getting kicked out into the streets because of his actions would be a huge shock to a young girl. She had already sort of knew her father was a jerk, but that really put things into perspective for her as to what kind of person her father really was.
I read this book at the same time that I read Esperanza Rising. Both stories touched me and both had a strong female as the main character, though Jameela in Wanting Mor seemed a little stronger mostly because of the ending of the story. I would like to hope that reading these kinds of books would help girls to know that they are stronger than they think and that life's hardships can be faced head on.
I think the part in the story where Jameela witnesses her drunken father going up the stairs to the bedroom of the family they are staying with and then both her and her father getting kicked out into the streets because of his actions would be a huge shock to a young girl. She had already sort of knew her father was a jerk, but that really put things into perspective for her as to what kind of person her father really was.
February 23, 2011
Wanting Mor, a novel by Rukhsana Khan, tells the story of Jameela, a young Afghan girl whose mother dies in the beginning of the book. After that, her life becomes a series of tragedies and mishaps, and yet Jameela's goodness and honesty make this story ultimately a happy one.
After her mother dies, Jameela's father takes them from their small rural village to Kabul. He marries a woman who doesn't like Jameela, so he takes Jameela to the market and abandons her there. It's a heartbreaking part of the story when she is left alone, waiting for her father to return. He never does. She is then taken in by a nice man who already has four children, so he can't keep her and she ends up at a local orphanage. Here her life improves. She makes a few friends, learns to read, and has her cleft lip repaired by an American army doctor. In a strange twist of fate, Jameela's friend Soraya ends up marrying Jameela's stepbrother, so Jameela finally has the chance to confront her father. She decides to stay at the orphanage instead of go back to live with her deadbeat father. The orphanage is her home, and she even becomes a teacher of the smaller children there. By the end of the story, Jameela is happily settled into life at the orphanage with a newfound sense of confidence.
There were many things I loved about this book, but I especially loved how the author tackles really serious issues with honesty. Jameela's father, for example, uses opium and drinks alcohol, and this is not sugarcoated at all. Also, Jameela is a tragic character in many ways, but she's also a real adolescent. She herself is the victim of ridicule because of her lip, yet she makes fun of another younger girl because she smells and is dirty. Jameela is not a martyr the way some tragic young characters can be. The author is also very direct in her portrayal of Muslim men, particularly Jameela's father, and how controlling they can be of women and girls. There is some anti-American sentiment in the book, but this is an accurate depiction of how many Afghan citizens might feel about the American military.
This book is very authentic in its portrayal of the ways that religion and gender roles are so important in Muslim culture. The author is from Pakistan, and the book seems very much like an insiders view of life in a Muslim country. Religion is very important to Jameela, and there are translations in the back of the book of the various arabic phrases she uses throughout the story.
I also thought the fact that Jameela had a cleft lip was very interesting. My father is a pediatric surgeon and has spent many years performing surgeries in poor countries where children have never had their cleft lips fixed. This can be devastating for children, especially girls whose "marriageability" is very important for ensuring a good quality of life. My dad often operated on girls as old as 13 or 14 who had never had their cleft lips repaired, so that part of Jameela's story really resonated with me.
Wanting Mor is a great book with lots of rich, interesting cultural issues. It provides an insider perspective on Afghanistan and the issues facing young women post-Taliban. I would recommend this book for students grades 7-10. Some of the issues such as drug abuse and parental abandonment are a bit heavy for younger students.
After her mother dies, Jameela's father takes them from their small rural village to Kabul. He marries a woman who doesn't like Jameela, so he takes Jameela to the market and abandons her there. It's a heartbreaking part of the story when she is left alone, waiting for her father to return. He never does. She is then taken in by a nice man who already has four children, so he can't keep her and she ends up at a local orphanage. Here her life improves. She makes a few friends, learns to read, and has her cleft lip repaired by an American army doctor. In a strange twist of fate, Jameela's friend Soraya ends up marrying Jameela's stepbrother, so Jameela finally has the chance to confront her father. She decides to stay at the orphanage instead of go back to live with her deadbeat father. The orphanage is her home, and she even becomes a teacher of the smaller children there. By the end of the story, Jameela is happily settled into life at the orphanage with a newfound sense of confidence.
There were many things I loved about this book, but I especially loved how the author tackles really serious issues with honesty. Jameela's father, for example, uses opium and drinks alcohol, and this is not sugarcoated at all. Also, Jameela is a tragic character in many ways, but she's also a real adolescent. She herself is the victim of ridicule because of her lip, yet she makes fun of another younger girl because she smells and is dirty. Jameela is not a martyr the way some tragic young characters can be. The author is also very direct in her portrayal of Muslim men, particularly Jameela's father, and how controlling they can be of women and girls. There is some anti-American sentiment in the book, but this is an accurate depiction of how many Afghan citizens might feel about the American military.
This book is very authentic in its portrayal of the ways that religion and gender roles are so important in Muslim culture. The author is from Pakistan, and the book seems very much like an insiders view of life in a Muslim country. Religion is very important to Jameela, and there are translations in the back of the book of the various arabic phrases she uses throughout the story.
I also thought the fact that Jameela had a cleft lip was very interesting. My father is a pediatric surgeon and has spent many years performing surgeries in poor countries where children have never had their cleft lips fixed. This can be devastating for children, especially girls whose "marriageability" is very important for ensuring a good quality of life. My dad often operated on girls as old as 13 or 14 who had never had their cleft lips repaired, so that part of Jameela's story really resonated with me.
Wanting Mor is a great book with lots of rich, interesting cultural issues. It provides an insider perspective on Afghanistan and the issues facing young women post-Taliban. I would recommend this book for students grades 7-10. Some of the issues such as drug abuse and parental abandonment are a bit heavy for younger students.
Read
April 8, 2013Jameela keenly misses her beloved dead mother (Mor). Mor’s teaching had encouraged her on the path to becoming a gracious Muslim woman. However, Afghanistan life after the American invasion of 2001 is treacherous for vulnerable youth. Jameela’s father, ruined by drugs, alcohol and other Western- or war-spawned problems, cannot guide her. He moves them to the city, but at his new wife’s urging he abandons his daughter at the market and Jameela ends up in an orphanage. Readers track Jameela’s journey from a scared girl with a misshapen face in an orphanage to an educated, strong young woman. She refuses to forsake her religious principles, and her triumphant moment comes partly through her choice to wear a chadri (burka). Shedding her timidity, Jameela’s approach to unopened doors is to knock and bang – even if it’s the door to her stepmother and father’s home! The plot’s twists and turns resemble the streets of Kabul where Jameela encounters both kindness and heart-wrenching cruelty. Author Rukhsana Khan, born in Pakistan, based Wanting Mor on a report from an orphanage she sponsors. She desired to present a Muslim view point, rather than the Western-flavoured one available elsewhere. A rich cultural landscape is conveyed through Khan’s religious perspectives and cultural background, her sensual descriptions and generous use of Afghani lingual terms (supported with a five-page “Glossary”). Wanting Mor will satisfy librarians looking to add Muslim or children-in-war stories to their shelves, but young patrons will repeatedly check the book out because the unique hero sees open roads, where others might only squint at dead ends.
Reviewed by lian gooddall in Canadian Children's Book News
Spring 2009 VOL.32 NO.2
Reviewed by lian gooddall in Canadian Children's Book News
Spring 2009 VOL.32 NO.2
July 12, 2016
"الوقوف في ساحه الحياة بظهر عار"
"جميلة" هي ضحية جشع وطمع الشعوب والحروب التي تطحن قلوب البشر وبالأخص من هم في عمر غض ليبقوا بلا " قلوب وبلا أحاسيس طفل"
..
وفقت "روكسانا خان"بنقل جزء من واقع قصة حقيقيه لآلام طفله وإيمان كبير منها بواقع أجمل وتخلصها من كيد واستغلال أقرب الناس لها ،، لحين حصولها على الراحه النفسيه...
"ستكون أسعد ماتكون إن جعلت رضا الله غايتك وحسب"
"جميلة" هي ضحية جشع وطمع الشعوب والحروب التي تطحن قلوب البشر وبالأخص من هم في عمر غض ليبقوا بلا " قلوب وبلا أحاسيس طفل"
..
وفقت "روكسانا خان"بنقل جزء من واقع قصة حقيقيه لآلام طفله وإيمان كبير منها بواقع أجمل وتخلصها من كيد واستغلال أقرب الناس لها ،، لحين حصولها على الراحه النفسيه...
"ستكون أسعد ماتكون إن جعلت رضا الله غايتك وحسب"
July 25, 2010
Jameela, a young Afghani girl, lives in a poor village with her mother and father. The rest of Jameela’s family has perished in a bombing at a family wedding. Jameela’s father is left broken and angry from this event; he withdraws from his wife and daughter to deal with his grief. Jameela then relies on her mother as her support system, going to her for advice and companionship. When Jameela’s mother suddenly dies, her world, as she knows it ends. Further emotionally devastated, her father turns to alcohol and drugs in response to his wife’s death. Much to Jameela surprise, her father then moves with her to the larger city of Kabul where he marries a wealthy widow. Jameela is then forced to accept a new mother into her life, when she is still mourning the death of her Mor (Pushto word for mother). Her father’s new wife is threatened by Jameela’s presence, especially after seeing the young girl attempt to learn to read. Her stepmother then persuades her father to abandon Jameela in a busy market place to fend for herself. Jameela eventually settles in an orphanage run by the army. Throughout the story, she draws upon the memories of her Mor, giving her the strength and perseverance she needs to survive.
Jameela’s story is fictional, but based on a true incident that Rukhsana Khan came across while reading a report on children in crisis that was issued by Afghanistan’s department of orphanages. She was so moved by the story that she was inspired to write Wanting Mor. Jameela’s life provides the reader with a window into another culture, one that may be unfamiliar and new. Her struggle is told in first person narrative, making the emotions honest and real. There are many Pushto words used authentically in the dialogue between characters and in Jameela’s narration. In the back of the book is a helpful glossary of words and definitions. Students in sixth grade through eighth would benefit from reading this book and engaging in discussion of life in Afghanistan. This book could be used in literature unit, paired with other books based in the Middle East, such as the Breadwinner, which also has a female protagonist set in Afghanistan.
Jameela’s story is fictional, but based on a true incident that Rukhsana Khan came across while reading a report on children in crisis that was issued by Afghanistan’s department of orphanages. She was so moved by the story that she was inspired to write Wanting Mor. Jameela’s life provides the reader with a window into another culture, one that may be unfamiliar and new. Her struggle is told in first person narrative, making the emotions honest and real. There are many Pushto words used authentically in the dialogue between characters and in Jameela’s narration. In the back of the book is a helpful glossary of words and definitions. Students in sixth grade through eighth would benefit from reading this book and engaging in discussion of life in Afghanistan. This book could be used in literature unit, paired with other books based in the Middle East, such as the Breadwinner, which also has a female protagonist set in Afghanistan.
January 7, 2018
For several months, as I would shelve books in my school library, I often hesitated and pulled out Wanting Mor from its location, deciding that I would make time to read it later. Well, later came last week, and I was able to finish the book yesterday at a UPJ/Gannon men's basketball game.
Although a work of fiction, Wanting Mor is based on a true incident that the author, Rukhsana Khan, read about in an Afghanistan Department of Orphanages report. The book's main character, Jameela, is an orphan. Her mother died shortly after the fall of the Taliban and her vice-possessed father moves her to Kabul and marries a widow. The widow is quite cruel towards Jameela. She works Jameela incessantly and feeds her little.
A kind butcher witnesses what turns out to be her father's abandonment in an unfamiliar and intricate marketplace that she cannot navigate. The butcher takes her to his home so she will be safe overnight, and although, both the butcher and his wife are pained by Jameela's circumstances, their family is taxed to its financial limits, and they cannot keep her. The next day, the butcher, Akram, takes Jameela to a local orphanage.
Here, over time, Jameela finds comfort and purpose, despite having to learn how to maneuver the orphanage's daily complexities. In the end, Jameela's heart-wrenching experiences have molded her into a wise and competent young lady capable of making decisions that are best for her and her well-being.
Note: I appreciated the included glossary. I often found myself referencing it to better understand story's content and the Arabic and Pushto phrases.
Although a work of fiction, Wanting Mor is based on a true incident that the author, Rukhsana Khan, read about in an Afghanistan Department of Orphanages report. The book's main character, Jameela, is an orphan. Her mother died shortly after the fall of the Taliban and her vice-possessed father moves her to Kabul and marries a widow. The widow is quite cruel towards Jameela. She works Jameela incessantly and feeds her little.
A kind butcher witnesses what turns out to be her father's abandonment in an unfamiliar and intricate marketplace that she cannot navigate. The butcher takes her to his home so she will be safe overnight, and although, both the butcher and his wife are pained by Jameela's circumstances, their family is taxed to its financial limits, and they cannot keep her. The next day, the butcher, Akram, takes Jameela to a local orphanage.
Here, over time, Jameela finds comfort and purpose, despite having to learn how to maneuver the orphanage's daily complexities. In the end, Jameela's heart-wrenching experiences have molded her into a wise and competent young lady capable of making decisions that are best for her and her well-being.
Note: I appreciated the included glossary. I often found myself referencing it to better understand story's content and the Arabic and Pushto phrases.
April 19, 2010
I had a difficult time getting into and staying with this book. I think it would be appropriate for teenagers who are well read and up for a challenge. In addition, I think the teenager would have to have a knowledge of Islamic culture and a desire to know more. Just couldn't get into this one.
April 28, 2016
This was one of the most heart-wrenching books I have read this year. The story centers around Jameela, a young Afghani girl who loses her mother Mor. Her father has many of his own personal issues and decides to uproot Jameela from their home and head off to Kabul, seeking a better life. Once in Kabul, the pair move around from place to place, and when her father re-marries, Jameela finds herself abandoned in the middle of this strange city. She ends up in an orphanage where she has to fall back on her islamic faith to get her through all of the emotions she experiences.
I was very humbled in what I thought I knew about Afghani life and Islam after reading this book. I couldn't believe the injustices and the fear which dominates the lives of the people on a daily basis. There was one quote in the book that made me feel so sad for the Afghani people, "The road barely exists. What isn't churned up by the tracks of military machines is pock-marked with bomb craters. These days the machines belong to the Americans, but before they belonged to the Russians and in between those two invaders, we had the Taliban." These people have never experienced true freedom from oppresion, and this is evident with all of the cultural references throughout the book. Khan's extensive research is very evident throughout the book, and I was surprised to see that the book was based on a true story. My hope is that our children will read this book and try to figure out ways to help their peers in Afghanistan. I also hope that they will realize how truly blessed we are to have the freedoms we do. This book would be a great read for 7th&8th graders.
I was very humbled in what I thought I knew about Afghani life and Islam after reading this book. I couldn't believe the injustices and the fear which dominates the lives of the people on a daily basis. There was one quote in the book that made me feel so sad for the Afghani people, "The road barely exists. What isn't churned up by the tracks of military machines is pock-marked with bomb craters. These days the machines belong to the Americans, but before they belonged to the Russians and in between those two invaders, we had the Taliban." These people have never experienced true freedom from oppresion, and this is evident with all of the cultural references throughout the book. Khan's extensive research is very evident throughout the book, and I was surprised to see that the book was based on a true story. My hope is that our children will read this book and try to figure out ways to help their peers in Afghanistan. I also hope that they will realize how truly blessed we are to have the freedoms we do. This book would be a great read for 7th&8th graders.
February 3, 2022
Wanting mor by Rukhsana Khan 📚
Wanting mor was a book set in a war torn village in Afghanistan about a young girl called Jameela. Jameel had cleft lip and no education at all. The book pulled at the heart strings and it was pretty brutal at times. It's hard to read how casual war becomes for children who grow up there. No child should ever grow up like that and that really stung when I was reading this book. Mor means mother and this book details Jameela's journey after her mother death.
The book used a lot of concepts from Islam and I think some basic knowledge of it was needed to understand the nuanced in certain scenes. There was a glossary at the end which translated the arabic words which was helpful. Mor's character was truly inspiring to read. Her father was a drunk and careless man. His only wish was to be rich.
He basically abandoned Jameela because of his step wife. She gets to an orphanage and safety due to kindness of a stranger. Here she finally understands what it feels to have friends and education. The banter in the book despite all the horrors they were facing was beautiful to read. The ending was solid and meaningful. Check this out for an inspiring read.
Wanting mor was a book set in a war torn village in Afghanistan about a young girl called Jameela. Jameel had cleft lip and no education at all. The book pulled at the heart strings and it was pretty brutal at times. It's hard to read how casual war becomes for children who grow up there. No child should ever grow up like that and that really stung when I was reading this book. Mor means mother and this book details Jameela's journey after her mother death.
The book used a lot of concepts from Islam and I think some basic knowledge of it was needed to understand the nuanced in certain scenes. There was a glossary at the end which translated the arabic words which was helpful. Mor's character was truly inspiring to read. Her father was a drunk and careless man. His only wish was to be rich.
He basically abandoned Jameela because of his step wife. She gets to an orphanage and safety due to kindness of a stranger. Here she finally understands what it feels to have friends and education. The banter in the book despite all the horrors they were facing was beautiful to read. The ending was solid and meaningful. Check this out for an inspiring read.
July 29, 2016
Mor is the Afghani word for mother, and the title reflects Jameela's longing throughout the novel for her deceased mother, or for someone who would love her like her deceased mother would. I absolutely loved Jameela, who despite her youth and the hardships she faced, first with a drunken, opium-using, abusive father, then on her own in the orphanage, managed to find her own place in the world. The story begins in 2001 just after the Americans invade Afghanistan. Despite the temptations around her brought by the influence of the Americans, Jameela remains true to her Islamic faith, which I very much admired. She continually thinks for herself and makes her own decisions, notably when the Americans offer her an operation to fix her hare lip, and all the girls in the orphanage try to talk her out of it. Her determination to learn to read despite the traditions around her that claim that women don't need to learn was also admirable. Khan provides a useful glossary at the back of the book, and a note revealing that the novel is based on the true story of an Afghani girl named Sameela. I hope Sameela's story ended on as positive and hopeful a note as Jameela's did. Very highly recommended!
May 4, 2010
I don't believe there are many books about Afghanistan for children, and this one manages to be 9-to-12 appropriate while at the same time showing the incredible difficulties of life (especially as a female) in that most unfortunate of nations. Probably the author's background as a Muslim (albeit a Pakistani one) contributed to the authenticity of the narrative.
That said, it was kind of predictable, most of the characters were two-dimensional, and (without trying to spoil the book) it had a sort of Lifetime movie quality about it, especially in the ending. Still, I suppose this is as good a book as any for a kid who's a little too young to be reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.
That said, it was kind of predictable, most of the characters were two-dimensional, and (without trying to spoil the book) it had a sort of Lifetime movie quality about it, especially in the ending. Still, I suppose this is as good a book as any for a kid who's a little too young to be reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.
April 24, 2018
اعجبني الكتاب وأصبح من كتبي المفضلة
الأسلوب فالكتابة رائع ووصف الأحداث والمشاعر كذلك
آلمني قلبي جداً تمنيت لو اني أستطيع مساعدة جميلة
تلك الصبية التي تفقد أمها ثم نتابع معها تسلسل الأحداث
هي من تلك الروايات التي تجعلك تعيش معها وتعيش جميع اللحظات والمواقف.
اكره الحروب وكل ما تسببه من دمار للمساكين اكرهها بشده.
أعجبت جداً بتمسك جميلة بدينها
ختاماً:إن لم يكن بيدكِ أن تكوني جميلة فعليكِ أن تكوني طيبة الناس ستحب ذلك منك.
الأسلوب فالكتابة رائع ووصف الأحداث والمشاعر كذلك
آلمني قلبي جداً تمنيت لو اني أستطيع مساعدة جميلة
تلك الصبية التي تفقد أمها ثم نتابع معها تسلسل الأحداث
هي من تلك الروايات التي تجعلك تعيش معها وتعيش جميع اللحظات والمواقف.
اكره الحروب وكل ما تسببه من دمار للمساكين اكرهها بشده.
أعجبت جداً بتمسك جميلة بدينها
ختاماً:إن لم يكن بيدكِ أن تكوني جميلة فعليكِ أن تكوني طيبة الناس ستحب ذلك منك.
June 3, 2015
This book has been written in a really beautiful way. The book starts off with the death of Jameela's mother, making the reader want to find out more. The plunge Jameela's life takes is really interesting, and I'm looking forward to more books from Duckbill's Not Our War series[ NOW].
July 11, 2015
4.5 stars. A quick, one sitting read. Good story, recommend for Gr 5 and up. Had the potential to be longer and more developed, for which I would've given it the 5 stars.
March 18, 2012
Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan
Groundwood Books, House of Anasi Press, Toronto & Berkeley, 2009
Interest level: YA (grades 7-10)
The main character, Jameela, is a young girl from Afghanistan. Her mother, Mor, dies from disease at the beginning of the book and now Jameela is left behind to deal with her irresponsible father and take over all the household duties. They live in poverty in a hut with no plumbing and a dirt floor, and they cook over a fire. They never have enough food, and their remote village has no doctor and no school. Her father is cruel to her and smokes opium and drinks, even though their religion forbids it. Her father was originally from Kabul, so after his wife Mor dies, he decides to return to the city where he thinks things will be better and he can find work. He sells all their belongings and Jameela only has a few minutes to say goodbye at her mother’s gravesite. When they arrive in Kabul, they stay with some of her father’s friends and Jameela is put to work cooking and cleaning. When that living situation didn’t work out, Jameela’s father decides to get married to a woman he barely knows, who he introduces to Jameela as her new mother. The arrangements are made very quickly and Jameela and her father move in to this woman’s house. Again, Jameela is forced to cook and clean, but she cannot please her new mother, who is extremely cruel to her. Her new stepmother tells Jameela’s father to get rid of her and so her father abandons her in a market. A kind butcher takes her to an orphanage, where Jameela actually has the opportunity to learn to read and make friends. Some American soldiers who help out at the orphanage take her to their military hospital, where she has surgery to fix her cleft lip. Life improves greatly for Jameela and she eventually wants to become a school teacher at the orphanage. She finds her father again and when he discovers her lip has been fixed and she can read, he tries to convince her to move away with him. She refuses though because she is quite happy with her new life at the orphanage.
The book is set in Afghanistan in 2001, right after the American invasion. The author tries to provide a culturally accurate depiction of what life is like in Afghanistan and I think she does a great job. The author, who was born in Lahore, Pakistan, is an expert on books with Muslim themes and her books are often set in or feature characters from Pakistan and the Middle East. In the author’s note, we find out that this story is based on a true event. Khan read a news report about orphanages and it told about a young girl whose father remarried and his new wife didn’t want the girl, so they left her in the marketplace, just like Jameela is abandoned in Wanting Mor. Khan’s sister-in-law, who is from Kabul, provided information about culture and life in Afghanistan for this book. Khan also had two other people from Kandahar read the book to review it for accuracy. Although I am not very familiar with life and the culture of Afghanistan, the details in the story seem very authentic.
As an American reader, reading about the life of a Muslim girl in Afghanistan, some of the major cultural differences were surprising and difficult to understand. Because of the reading level , content, and the age of the main character, I’d say the target audience is middle school. If I had any of my middle school students read this book, I would want to prepare them for these differences and make sure they had a little background knowledge about the cultural differences, the War in Afghanistan and Muslim beliefs and practices. A young student who no background knowledge of these things might have difficulty comprehending the book. There were many unfamiliar words (some in the Pushto language, some dealing with Islam and cultural details) that aren’t defined in context. There is a glossary in the back of the book, but some readers might not find it – there is no indication within the text or at the beginning of the book. The languages and groups of people mentioned in the book (Pushto, Farsi, Punjabi) may be unfamiliar to any reader who does not keep up with the news and has not read anything about people in Afghanistan. Prayer customs are also not explained (how many times per day, when, washing rituals, etc.), so if a reader has no prior knowledge about Islam, they may be confused.
For a female American reader, it is also shocking how women are treated in the book – especially Jameela because she is a poor, young, uneducated girl with a cleft lip. As a young girl, she is expected to do all the housework after her mother dies – and it’s very labor intensive because they live in a hut with no plumbing. She keeps reminding herself of what her mother had told her before she died – if she can’t be beautiful, she can at least be good and people will appreciate that. She has never been educated and cannot read, so her opportunities in life are dismal. She is also required to wear a head scarf (porani), but she seems very comfortable with this and even says negative things about women who don’t wear a head covering or women who dress suggestively and wear makeup (like Westerners). When her and her father first move to Kabul, Jameela is shocked by the women there who wear short skirts, makeup, and no head covering, and have parties where they dance and drink – all of these things are forbidden by their religion and Jameela thinks they are immodest and shameful. Jameela is very religions and doesn’t like it when others don’t take their prayers and their faith seriously.
One of the most shocking episodes in the book was when one of Jameela’s friends wears a tight, low-cut dress with no head covering and when men bump into her on purpose and a boy grabs her breast, Jameela thinks it’s funny. The thinks it’s the girl’s fault for wearing those clothes and inviting harassment – it’s not the men who are at fault. This is very different from our Western view, where women have equal rights and sexual harassment is taken very seriously. Jameela seems very judgmental and even mean at times, because of her religious beliefs and social customs – it is very unsettling to an American reader who is not used to that type of thought.
It’s also very disturbing that her father leaves immediately after his wife dies and soon makes the hasty decision to marry another woman who he didn’t know very well and Jameela had never even met before. It seems incredible to an American reader that her father just announces that this strange woman would be Jameela’s new mother. This is definitely something that would not happen in the United States. One of Jameela’s friends at the orphanage (who is a teenage girl), also meets a boy and is married to him within a few weeks, without really knowing him very well. Apparently this is not something that is shocking and strange to the people there, as it would be in the United States, where our beliefs and customs surrounding marriage are much different.
The book also deals with the American invasion of Afghanistan, but doesn’t go into great detail, so some prior knowledge is assumed. There are mentions of foreigners bombing them, American military machines (and before the Americans, it was the Russians), and Taliban rule. Jameela’s mother’s entire family had been killed by a bomb dropped on a family wedding celebration. Jameela had to help pick up body parts and bury them all. Death is a part of life there – there are lots of funerals, many people had been killed by mines, drought, disease, war, and other causes. She has a lot of resentment and anger about the American soldiers killing her innocent family members, so she has very mixed feelings about the soldiers who help out at the orphanage. Jameela says “they are powerful and we are not” and her friend tells her, “first the soldiers break our country, now they want to fix it.” Because of the general distrust of the American soldiers, the other girls at the orphanage tell Jameela not to get the surgery to correct her cleft lip (although she ultimately decides to go ahead with it).
Overall, I enjoyed the book and thought it was a cultural authentic and compelling story. I also think it’s an important book because our students should to read and learn more about life in other countries and cultures that are very different from their own. But because there are so many cultural differences and issues dealt with in the story (without much explanation), the subject matter would make it a complicated and difficult read for younger kids with no background knowledge. Amazon lists the book for age 10 and up (grades 4 and up), but I would only suggest this book for students in grades 7 and up. Even though the reading level is not difficult, the subject matter makes it harder to comprehend if the student doesn’t have enough background knowledge.
Groundwood Books, House of Anasi Press, Toronto & Berkeley, 2009
Interest level: YA (grades 7-10)
The main character, Jameela, is a young girl from Afghanistan. Her mother, Mor, dies from disease at the beginning of the book and now Jameela is left behind to deal with her irresponsible father and take over all the household duties. They live in poverty in a hut with no plumbing and a dirt floor, and they cook over a fire. They never have enough food, and their remote village has no doctor and no school. Her father is cruel to her and smokes opium and drinks, even though their religion forbids it. Her father was originally from Kabul, so after his wife Mor dies, he decides to return to the city where he thinks things will be better and he can find work. He sells all their belongings and Jameela only has a few minutes to say goodbye at her mother’s gravesite. When they arrive in Kabul, they stay with some of her father’s friends and Jameela is put to work cooking and cleaning. When that living situation didn’t work out, Jameela’s father decides to get married to a woman he barely knows, who he introduces to Jameela as her new mother. The arrangements are made very quickly and Jameela and her father move in to this woman’s house. Again, Jameela is forced to cook and clean, but she cannot please her new mother, who is extremely cruel to her. Her new stepmother tells Jameela’s father to get rid of her and so her father abandons her in a market. A kind butcher takes her to an orphanage, where Jameela actually has the opportunity to learn to read and make friends. Some American soldiers who help out at the orphanage take her to their military hospital, where she has surgery to fix her cleft lip. Life improves greatly for Jameela and she eventually wants to become a school teacher at the orphanage. She finds her father again and when he discovers her lip has been fixed and she can read, he tries to convince her to move away with him. She refuses though because she is quite happy with her new life at the orphanage.
The book is set in Afghanistan in 2001, right after the American invasion. The author tries to provide a culturally accurate depiction of what life is like in Afghanistan and I think she does a great job. The author, who was born in Lahore, Pakistan, is an expert on books with Muslim themes and her books are often set in or feature characters from Pakistan and the Middle East. In the author’s note, we find out that this story is based on a true event. Khan read a news report about orphanages and it told about a young girl whose father remarried and his new wife didn’t want the girl, so they left her in the marketplace, just like Jameela is abandoned in Wanting Mor. Khan’s sister-in-law, who is from Kabul, provided information about culture and life in Afghanistan for this book. Khan also had two other people from Kandahar read the book to review it for accuracy. Although I am not very familiar with life and the culture of Afghanistan, the details in the story seem very authentic.
As an American reader, reading about the life of a Muslim girl in Afghanistan, some of the major cultural differences were surprising and difficult to understand. Because of the reading level , content, and the age of the main character, I’d say the target audience is middle school. If I had any of my middle school students read this book, I would want to prepare them for these differences and make sure they had a little background knowledge about the cultural differences, the War in Afghanistan and Muslim beliefs and practices. A young student who no background knowledge of these things might have difficulty comprehending the book. There were many unfamiliar words (some in the Pushto language, some dealing with Islam and cultural details) that aren’t defined in context. There is a glossary in the back of the book, but some readers might not find it – there is no indication within the text or at the beginning of the book. The languages and groups of people mentioned in the book (Pushto, Farsi, Punjabi) may be unfamiliar to any reader who does not keep up with the news and has not read anything about people in Afghanistan. Prayer customs are also not explained (how many times per day, when, washing rituals, etc.), so if a reader has no prior knowledge about Islam, they may be confused.
For a female American reader, it is also shocking how women are treated in the book – especially Jameela because she is a poor, young, uneducated girl with a cleft lip. As a young girl, she is expected to do all the housework after her mother dies – and it’s very labor intensive because they live in a hut with no plumbing. She keeps reminding herself of what her mother had told her before she died – if she can’t be beautiful, she can at least be good and people will appreciate that. She has never been educated and cannot read, so her opportunities in life are dismal. She is also required to wear a head scarf (porani), but she seems very comfortable with this and even says negative things about women who don’t wear a head covering or women who dress suggestively and wear makeup (like Westerners). When her and her father first move to Kabul, Jameela is shocked by the women there who wear short skirts, makeup, and no head covering, and have parties where they dance and drink – all of these things are forbidden by their religion and Jameela thinks they are immodest and shameful. Jameela is very religions and doesn’t like it when others don’t take their prayers and their faith seriously.
One of the most shocking episodes in the book was when one of Jameela’s friends wears a tight, low-cut dress with no head covering and when men bump into her on purpose and a boy grabs her breast, Jameela thinks it’s funny. The thinks it’s the girl’s fault for wearing those clothes and inviting harassment – it’s not the men who are at fault. This is very different from our Western view, where women have equal rights and sexual harassment is taken very seriously. Jameela seems very judgmental and even mean at times, because of her religious beliefs and social customs – it is very unsettling to an American reader who is not used to that type of thought.
It’s also very disturbing that her father leaves immediately after his wife dies and soon makes the hasty decision to marry another woman who he didn’t know very well and Jameela had never even met before. It seems incredible to an American reader that her father just announces that this strange woman would be Jameela’s new mother. This is definitely something that would not happen in the United States. One of Jameela’s friends at the orphanage (who is a teenage girl), also meets a boy and is married to him within a few weeks, without really knowing him very well. Apparently this is not something that is shocking and strange to the people there, as it would be in the United States, where our beliefs and customs surrounding marriage are much different.
The book also deals with the American invasion of Afghanistan, but doesn’t go into great detail, so some prior knowledge is assumed. There are mentions of foreigners bombing them, American military machines (and before the Americans, it was the Russians), and Taliban rule. Jameela’s mother’s entire family had been killed by a bomb dropped on a family wedding celebration. Jameela had to help pick up body parts and bury them all. Death is a part of life there – there are lots of funerals, many people had been killed by mines, drought, disease, war, and other causes. She has a lot of resentment and anger about the American soldiers killing her innocent family members, so she has very mixed feelings about the soldiers who help out at the orphanage. Jameela says “they are powerful and we are not” and her friend tells her, “first the soldiers break our country, now they want to fix it.” Because of the general distrust of the American soldiers, the other girls at the orphanage tell Jameela not to get the surgery to correct her cleft lip (although she ultimately decides to go ahead with it).
Overall, I enjoyed the book and thought it was a cultural authentic and compelling story. I also think it’s an important book because our students should to read and learn more about life in other countries and cultures that are very different from their own. But because there are so many cultural differences and issues dealt with in the story (without much explanation), the subject matter would make it a complicated and difficult read for younger kids with no background knowledge. Amazon lists the book for age 10 and up (grades 4 and up), but I would only suggest this book for students in grades 7 and up. Even though the reading level is not difficult, the subject matter makes it harder to comprehend if the student doesn’t have enough background knowledge.
September 7, 2021
Wanting Mor, written by Rukhsana Khan, is a fictional story based on a true event. Set in 2001 after the American invasion of Afghanistan, it revolves around a child Jameela in post-Taliban Afghanistan. A line in the Author’s note summarizes the essence of this book — “When countries go to war, it is always civilians, especially children, who suffer the most.”
This book is a topical read, considering the current situation in Afghanistan. The war has affected the women and children the most; deprived of their freedoms, they are living a perilous life. Jameela’s story mirrors the stories of countless abandoned women and children.
Jameela and her family are extremely poor. Survival is a challenge in their war-torn village. Being illiterate, and born with a cleft-lip, there is no dearth of struggles in her life. Her life changes for the worse when her mother dies. Her father takes to drugs and alcohol, and marries an older widowed woman for the sake of dowry. Jameela’s step-mother doesn’t take to her kindly, and punishes Jameela for learning to read. The punishment—being abandoned in the marketplace by her father leaves the little child devastated.
Her new home is an orphanage, where she not only comes to accept her fate but also finds the courage to stand up for herself. Her Islamic faith and her mother’s love give her immense strength and the courage to go on. She firmly believes that “If you can’t be beautiful, you should at least be good. People will appreciate that,”– something her Mor used to tell her often.
The Taliban’s influence over Afghanistan has waned, but Jameela continues to cover herself in the chadri—it comforts her, and gives her solace. She also has strong opinions on the way women should dress, which has stemmed from her religious upbringing. She is just a child, but circumstances force her to forget her childhood as she deals with different aspects of human relationships—loss, betrayal, friendship, jealousy, and power struggles.
I liked Khan’s realistic character building, development and the satisfying story arc. It was heartening to see Jameela gain self-confidence and not end up shattered. Her life is tragic, but she doesn’t come as a martyr. Rather, she is a fighter.
In terms of narration, the author has laid little emphasis on the gory details of war, but tackles the issue at an emotional level. Making it a suitable read for children 12 and above. It’s a good book to introduce them to the ground realities of Afghanistan, the cultural differences and the struggles.
The usage of dialects (Farsi, Pashto) and references to Islamic traditions and rituals lend an authenticity to the book. However, my lack of knowledge proved to be a deterrent. The glossary at the back helped, but referring to it repeatedly broke the flow of reading.
Wanting Mor is a complex and intricately layered book touching on themes of drug, alcohol, abandonment, war, and death. Afghan culture, gender disparity, education and poverty form the broader underlying themes. The author provides an inside and honest view of life of women in Afghanistan without judgement.
BLOG|INSTA
This book is a topical read, considering the current situation in Afghanistan. The war has affected the women and children the most; deprived of their freedoms, they are living a perilous life. Jameela’s story mirrors the stories of countless abandoned women and children.
Jameela and her family are extremely poor. Survival is a challenge in their war-torn village. Being illiterate, and born with a cleft-lip, there is no dearth of struggles in her life. Her life changes for the worse when her mother dies. Her father takes to drugs and alcohol, and marries an older widowed woman for the sake of dowry. Jameela’s step-mother doesn’t take to her kindly, and punishes Jameela for learning to read. The punishment—being abandoned in the marketplace by her father leaves the little child devastated.
Her new home is an orphanage, where she not only comes to accept her fate but also finds the courage to stand up for herself. Her Islamic faith and her mother’s love give her immense strength and the courage to go on. She firmly believes that “If you can’t be beautiful, you should at least be good. People will appreciate that,”– something her Mor used to tell her often.
The Taliban’s influence over Afghanistan has waned, but Jameela continues to cover herself in the chadri—it comforts her, and gives her solace. She also has strong opinions on the way women should dress, which has stemmed from her religious upbringing. She is just a child, but circumstances force her to forget her childhood as she deals with different aspects of human relationships—loss, betrayal, friendship, jealousy, and power struggles.
I liked Khan’s realistic character building, development and the satisfying story arc. It was heartening to see Jameela gain self-confidence and not end up shattered. Her life is tragic, but she doesn’t come as a martyr. Rather, she is a fighter.
In terms of narration, the author has laid little emphasis on the gory details of war, but tackles the issue at an emotional level. Making it a suitable read for children 12 and above. It’s a good book to introduce them to the ground realities of Afghanistan, the cultural differences and the struggles.
The usage of dialects (Farsi, Pashto) and references to Islamic traditions and rituals lend an authenticity to the book. However, my lack of knowledge proved to be a deterrent. The glossary at the back helped, but referring to it repeatedly broke the flow of reading.
Wanting Mor is a complex and intricately layered book touching on themes of drug, alcohol, abandonment, war, and death. Afghan culture, gender disparity, education and poverty form the broader underlying themes. The author provides an inside and honest view of life of women in Afghanistan without judgement.
BLOG|INSTA
January 2, 2019
I have already read this book twice in the past few weeks, it is definitely one of my favorites. The fact that it is inspired by true events is absolutely appalling and makes the story all the more powerful. As the book follows Jameela and her struggle to deal with the death of her mother and her father's abusive tendencies, the author, Rukhsana Khan does a fantastic job describing emotions and situations of the characters. Khan's character development is amazing, she shows growth very well as the story progresses and readers can clearly see development of Jameela throughout all of her struggles. Another strong aspect I enjoyed was Khan's ability to write about sensitive topics such as war, poverty, addiction, and death, through her use of figurative language and just the right amount of details so as to make a strong point to the readers, but make the book appropriate for sensitive (or younger) readers.
The book's intense use of details gives readers a sense of inclusion, as though the audience is sitting with the characters and feeling Jameela's emotions through the loss of her beloved mother, Mor. It also gives the readers more insight into the lives of poor, war-torn Muslims in the middle east which western readers might not have the ability to be exposed to. Rather than dehumanizing Muslims as some journalists or authors tend to do, this book gives amazing insight into struggles of living in a divided nation, Khan demonizes the antagonists (rather than the religion itself) while contrasting Muslim stereotypes by showing acts of compassion and faith throughout the novel. Rukhsana Khan brings culture, character, and an exciting plot into this novel, if you enjoyed The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns (both by Khaled Hosseini) then this book will touch your heart.
Though I really enjoyed the story and Khan's writing techniques, the novel was short, so short that one could blow through it in a matter of hours, the complex plot and immense amounts of details makes me personally want more to read, more elaboration, or simply a longer story. Though the book's short length may make it seem rushed to tell the story, I could not be happier with Khan's beautiful writing and her skillful characterization of Jameela, her family (or lack thereof), and the unlikely friends she makes throughout the book. If you're looking for a good book to read on a plane-ride or over the weekend, I would definitely recommend this novel.
The book's intense use of details gives readers a sense of inclusion, as though the audience is sitting with the characters and feeling Jameela's emotions through the loss of her beloved mother, Mor. It also gives the readers more insight into the lives of poor, war-torn Muslims in the middle east which western readers might not have the ability to be exposed to. Rather than dehumanizing Muslims as some journalists or authors tend to do, this book gives amazing insight into struggles of living in a divided nation, Khan demonizes the antagonists (rather than the religion itself) while contrasting Muslim stereotypes by showing acts of compassion and faith throughout the novel. Rukhsana Khan brings culture, character, and an exciting plot into this novel, if you enjoyed The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns (both by Khaled Hosseini) then this book will touch your heart.
Though I really enjoyed the story and Khan's writing techniques, the novel was short, so short that one could blow through it in a matter of hours, the complex plot and immense amounts of details makes me personally want more to read, more elaboration, or simply a longer story. Though the book's short length may make it seem rushed to tell the story, I could not be happier with Khan's beautiful writing and her skillful characterization of Jameela, her family (or lack thereof), and the unlikely friends she makes throughout the book. If you're looking for a good book to read on a plane-ride or over the weekend, I would definitely recommend this novel.
March 1, 2022
توقعت أن تحكي الرواية قصة كفاح الفتاه في ظل الظروف التي خلفتها الحرب
لكن الرواية تأخذنا في رحلة نضج شخصية الفتاة التي لطالما شعرت بالخجل من شكلها و ضعف شخصيتها..
الظروف الصعبة التي مرت بها كانت كفيلة بأن تمنحها فرصة لتكتشف ذاتها و تعتمد على نفسها بالرغم من ألم الفقد الذي أصابها بعد أن توفيت والدتها .
أحببت الطرح البسيط و اللغة السهلة...و أحببت بشدة الاقتباسات الدينية و خاصة من سيرة الرسول .
"من المفترض بي أن أكون سعيدة، و أنا سعيده ،غير أن جانبا مني ما يزال يشعر ...لا أعرف...بالخواء؟
لا ينبغي أن أشعر بهذا ،أليست حياتي أفضل حالا؟سبحان الله، أنا لم يكن بمقدوري حتى أن اقرأ،
لكن ما يزال في نفسي ذلك الجانب الخاوي الذي لا يمكن إلا *للعائله* أن تملأه "
لكن الرواية تأخذنا في رحلة نضج شخصية الفتاة التي لطالما شعرت بالخجل من شكلها و ضعف شخصيتها..
الظروف الصعبة التي مرت بها كانت كفيلة بأن تمنحها فرصة لتكتشف ذاتها و تعتمد على نفسها بالرغم من ألم الفقد الذي أصابها بعد أن توفيت والدتها .
أحببت الطرح البسيط و اللغة السهلة...و أحببت بشدة الاقتباسات الدينية و خاصة من سيرة الرسول .
"من المفترض بي أن أكون سعيدة، و أنا سعيده ،غير أن جانبا مني ما يزال يشعر ...لا أعرف...بالخواء؟
لا ينبغي أن أشعر بهذا ،أليست حياتي أفضل حالا؟سبحان الله، أنا لم يكن بمقدوري حتى أن اقرأ،
لكن ما يزال في نفسي ذلك الجانب الخاوي الذي لا يمكن إلا *للعائله* أن تملأه "
January 4, 2020
Yet another time that I will say - ratings are inadequate. This book was a great example of what it was. But I'm not built for realistic fiction and this was a little too simple for my taste. I picked it up at the school library though, and I believe it will and should get many happy readers there. A quick, straightforward read, but deeper than it looks with a lot of scope for reflection..
September 8, 2024
this is so sad :( ive had this on my shelf for years and i'm glad i picked it up now; its meant for a younger audience but i truly appreciated reading it
"when countries go to war, it is always civilians, especially children, who suffer the most."
"when countries go to war, it is always civilians, especially children, who suffer the most."
February 21, 2011
Wanting Mor is the story of Jameela, a young Afghani girl. When her mother dies after a short illness, Jameela’s father decides to pack up and leave their home for Kabul selling all their belongings. Is doesn’t take long for Jameela’s Baba to remarry. Jameela becomes a virtual slave to her stepmother, cooking and cleaning and sleeping on the floor. She knows that her Mor would want her to be good so she never complains about the hard work that she has to endure. Her father spends much of the time smoking opium and drinking alcohol. He cannot stand up to his wife who does not want Jameela in her house. Baba takes Jameela to the marketplace and abandons her. It is through the kindness of one man, Agha Akram, that Jameela is brought to an orphanage where she is taught to read and write and make friends. It is at the orphanage that Jameela finally feels like she belongs.
When Jameela arrives at the orphanage she is befriend by an older girl Soraya, She is given an opportunity to go to school but must be put in a class with the young girls because she has never learned to read or write. A fast learner, Jameela is soon helping to teach the younger girls. She is offered a chance to have an operation to repair a cleft palette that she was born with. It is with this opportunity that Jameela becomes a strong and independent young woman. Although covered by her Chadri, Jameela knows that she no longer has to cover her disability. Her ability to read and write have made her strong and will lead her to her independence as she will be able to become a teacher in the future. Jameela finds the strength to confront her father when he comes to reclaim her at the end of the novel. Jameela sees her father for who he truly is, a drug addicted man whose only interest in his daughter is her ability to make money for him.
Wanting Mor is set in war-torn Afghanistan after the Taliban have left and American soldiers have occupied the city of Kabul. The director of the orphanage, Khalaa Gul, is always looking for American benefactors to give them money. She turns to the military for help in keeping up the orphanage. When Jameela is offered the chance to have her cleft palette fixed by an American doctor, the girls tell her not to trust the soldiers. “They kill for a living.” (p.112). Soraya feels that they, as Afghans, need to have some dignity. “ I hate how we go begging to these foreigners for every little thing.” (p.112). It is interesting to see the anti-American feelings that the characters have. Jameela is offended by the “westernization” that is taking place in Kabul. She is more comfortable wearing her Chadri and is disgusted by women who wear tight-fitting clothes and dance with men. She sees the children in the orphanage getting western ideas as well. They do not take praying seriously. They do not have the kind of faith that Jameela has. It is her Muslim faith that sustains her.
Wanting Mor is a novel for students in 5th through 8th grades. There are many themes that are discussed throughout the book. There are issues of abandonment; Baba leaving his daughter at the marketplace and Mor dying, poverty; Baba remarries because he has no money or job, and the effects of war on civilians, especially children. The issue of drug addiction can be discussed with older students. Students can question whether Baba abandoned his daughter because of drugs. The importance of education is prevalent through out the book. It is because of her education that Jameela is able to become independent. Wanting Mor is a powerful and moving story, sure to be enjoyed by all who read it.
December 25, 2010
This story is all about Jameela and that's good and bad. I didn't like that because I felt that the rest of the characters were ignored. I really wanted to learn more about the stories of the other girls at the orphanage where Jameela ends up. Well, not all the girls, but the ones who she mentions the most. That's all she does, briefly mention them but she never delves deeper into their stories (Zeba, Soraya, Arwa), yet they know her entire story. This didn't seem particularly fair to me. I also had an issue with the passing of time. I wasn't aware of how old Jameela was, or how much time had passed. Everything seemed to happen rather suddenly, the book seemed to be on fast-forward.
I was torn over how I felt about Jameela. At first I was annoyed by how religious and judgmental she seemed. But then I stepped back and tried to see life through her infamous-porani (a type of shawl that covers the head, Jameela chews on her porani when she gets nervous and she uses it to hide her cleft lip). If I had grown up in a small village and all I'd ever known was a more conservative (but not EXTREME. That distinction is important) version of Islam, I would have been just as shocked by Kabul as Jameela was. Once in Kabul, Jameela's father seems to change, doing things that are frowned upon in Islam. He gets drunk, ignores her completely and finally abandons her at a busy marketplace. From there with the help of kind strangers, Jameela goes to the orphanage and things seem to be looking up from her. Not many of the girls at the orphanage wear a porani but Jameela continues to wear it, not only because how she was raised, but because she wants to hide her cleft lip. Just when I grew tired of Jameela being SO Good (just because I understood it didn't mean I liked reading about it), she shows that she's not an angel, but a saint/human. She looks down on this little girl, Arwa because she is so dirty and clingy. It's sad to see sweet Jameela act so cruelly towards tiny Arwa, but as it becomes clear why Jameela acts this way, my heart went out to both Arwa AND Jameela.
Wanting Mor just is. As in, there's nothing I hated about this book, but there wasn't anything I loved about it either. My heart went out to Jameela, especially when her father begins acting so cruelly towards her and not following the ways of Islam (one of the worst experience in the world can be discovering that your parents make mistakes and this indeed turns out to be rather traumatic for Jameela). She faces one hardship after another and yet she always manages to keep her chin up, to forgive and be good. I wish the story had slowed down a bit more, infused with more details so that it didn't seem to go by so fast, leaving me feeling as though I'd missed something. At times, Jameela can be hard to relate to because she is so good, but she does have a few moments in which she falters and those help remind the reader that she's human. I just wish those moments had occurred more often because I closed this book feeling a sense of awe for Jameela combined with coldness, because she seemed so distant.
I was torn over how I felt about Jameela. At first I was annoyed by how religious and judgmental she seemed. But then I stepped back and tried to see life through her infamous-porani (a type of shawl that covers the head, Jameela chews on her porani when she gets nervous and she uses it to hide her cleft lip). If I had grown up in a small village and all I'd ever known was a more conservative (but not EXTREME. That distinction is important) version of Islam, I would have been just as shocked by Kabul as Jameela was. Once in Kabul, Jameela's father seems to change, doing things that are frowned upon in Islam. He gets drunk, ignores her completely and finally abandons her at a busy marketplace. From there with the help of kind strangers, Jameela goes to the orphanage and things seem to be looking up from her. Not many of the girls at the orphanage wear a porani but Jameela continues to wear it, not only because how she was raised, but because she wants to hide her cleft lip. Just when I grew tired of Jameela being SO Good (just because I understood it didn't mean I liked reading about it), she shows that she's not an angel, but a saint/human. She looks down on this little girl, Arwa because she is so dirty and clingy. It's sad to see sweet Jameela act so cruelly towards tiny Arwa, but as it becomes clear why Jameela acts this way, my heart went out to both Arwa AND Jameela.
Wanting Mor just is. As in, there's nothing I hated about this book, but there wasn't anything I loved about it either. My heart went out to Jameela, especially when her father begins acting so cruelly towards her and not following the ways of Islam (one of the worst experience in the world can be discovering that your parents make mistakes and this indeed turns out to be rather traumatic for Jameela). She faces one hardship after another and yet she always manages to keep her chin up, to forgive and be good. I wish the story had slowed down a bit more, infused with more details so that it didn't seem to go by so fast, leaving me feeling as though I'd missed something. At times, Jameela can be hard to relate to because she is so good, but she does have a few moments in which she falters and those help remind the reader that she's human. I just wish those moments had occurred more often because I closed this book feeling a sense of awe for Jameela combined with coldness, because she seemed so distant.
June 28, 2015
It is possible for a book to at once be tragic and full of hope, because Wanting Mor is both of these things. After the American invasion life in Afghanistan is difficult. Fields lie fallow since no one can risk farming among the landmines. Subsequently, food is scarce. Many people have lost loved ones due to hunger, illness or the foreign invaders. When Jameela’s mother dies, her father takes her away from the village she has known all of her life to Kabul. Jameela tries her best to be useful and good in the big city. She’s often shocked by the way people live there, particularly that their religious observance (or lack thereof) is so very different from her own. Despite suffering tragic losses and heartbreaking betrayals Jameela finds a place that she can call home and even begins to dream of a future for herself.
Jameela’s story is compelling. Although the initial chapters of the book will be quite difficult for some readers, I think they will be quite taken with the story if they continue. Rukhsana Khan uses many words that will be unfamiliar to readers. Some are in Pashto, Farsi or Arabic, reflecting the languages used in Afghanistan. Other words related to religion and religious practice and prayer will be new to non-Muslims. I would recommend making a photocopy of the Glossary that Khan provides at the end of the book. Many readers will benefit from having it next to them as they read rather than flipping back and forth. As the book continues, it becomes easier, in part because the vocabulary that was new at the beginning becomes familiar. The beginning will also be hard for some readers because Jameela experiences the death of her mother. It can be tough to open a book directly with grief and pain. But as I said before, despite the many heartbreaking parts of this book, the end result is something that is filled with hope.
Great for: An interesting perspective on what life might be like in another culture. Jameela’s own beliefs about how a girl should dress and behave are very different from the mainstream cultural norm in America and it was great to see things through her eyes and her experience. The book also talks about Jameela’s cleft lip (a physical difficulty that is often fixed at birth in countries with ready and affordable access to medical care). I definitely recommend this.
Be careful: Jameela’s feelings about women’s clothing very much reflect how she was raised and her own religious beliefs. At one point it is clear that she feels that women who dress provocatively are bringing negative male attention and sexual harassment on themselves. This is something you may want to discuss with your child. For me personally, I would like to see a world where women are respected regardless of their clothing and that no matter what, a woman’s clothing should not be considered permission to sexually harass or assault her. Jameela is still a young girl and her personal beliefs as reflected in that one part of the book should not be taken as an indication that this is a belief all Muslims share.
Full review covering any potentially concerning content available on my blog: http://bit.ly/1G5NzbK
Jameela’s story is compelling. Although the initial chapters of the book will be quite difficult for some readers, I think they will be quite taken with the story if they continue. Rukhsana Khan uses many words that will be unfamiliar to readers. Some are in Pashto, Farsi or Arabic, reflecting the languages used in Afghanistan. Other words related to religion and religious practice and prayer will be new to non-Muslims. I would recommend making a photocopy of the Glossary that Khan provides at the end of the book. Many readers will benefit from having it next to them as they read rather than flipping back and forth. As the book continues, it becomes easier, in part because the vocabulary that was new at the beginning becomes familiar. The beginning will also be hard for some readers because Jameela experiences the death of her mother. It can be tough to open a book directly with grief and pain. But as I said before, despite the many heartbreaking parts of this book, the end result is something that is filled with hope.
Great for: An interesting perspective on what life might be like in another culture. Jameela’s own beliefs about how a girl should dress and behave are very different from the mainstream cultural norm in America and it was great to see things through her eyes and her experience. The book also talks about Jameela’s cleft lip (a physical difficulty that is often fixed at birth in countries with ready and affordable access to medical care). I definitely recommend this.
Be careful: Jameela’s feelings about women’s clothing very much reflect how she was raised and her own religious beliefs. At one point it is clear that she feels that women who dress provocatively are bringing negative male attention and sexual harassment on themselves. This is something you may want to discuss with your child. For me personally, I would like to see a world where women are respected regardless of their clothing and that no matter what, a woman’s clothing should not be considered permission to sexually harass or assault her. Jameela is still a young girl and her personal beliefs as reflected in that one part of the book should not be taken as an indication that this is a belief all Muslims share.
Full review covering any potentially concerning content available on my blog: http://bit.ly/1G5NzbK
April 9, 2010
"If you can't be beautiful you should at least be good. People will appreciate that."
The protagonist Jameela embodies goodness. It is hard not to fall in love with her. She is patient, long suffering and sweet. Her attempts at being "good" when faced with impossible life situations left me wanting to rescue her from all the horrors dealt her throughout the story. Yet, I was left worried about the ultimate message this story sends the reader.
It's not that I am against "goodness" per se. But, how often are women sold these as their only two options in life (beauty & goodness)? Every time Jameela experiences another blow she tells her self, "Don't get angry. Don't get angry. Don't get angry." In the end, she devotes herself to being "good" through unquestioning obedience, working hard and piety. Once again, all great characteristics to embody. But, it appears that these characteristics are what in turn save her rather than her tenacity, intelligence and resilience.
Each time Jameela re-devotes herself to being good, a door of opportunity is opened. I fear this is the wrong message to send. While it is good to hold on to the traits Jameela demonstrates, rarely do these traits alone solve problems. While Jameela eventually gets to a place where she pushes back, it wasn't satisfying to me. It just felt too clean. I would have appreciated it if the author used the character to demonstrate some of the emotional problems associated with the travesties she faces. The protagonist ends up a romantic view of the good woman who survives difficulty. In my classroom with refugees, I witness first hand the long term, devastating effects of war, poverty and displacement have on a person. It is not as clean and romantic as the book would have the reader see.
It is our intolerance, anger and indignation that moves people to challenge institutions that perpetuate suffering. It is the act of "acting out" that creates important change. Where would we be if we all quietly went along with our suffering? We cannot "good" our way out of slavery, racial segregation, domestic abuse and other such social/personal problems. Learning how to push back, question, and demand are as equally important as being good and beautiful, if not more so.
A neatly written story. However, I would want a parent to read this story with their child to discuss some of the deeper implications of Jameela's character. I would not want a child to leave this story believing that the answer to injustice, pain and loss is "goodness".
The protagonist Jameela embodies goodness. It is hard not to fall in love with her. She is patient, long suffering and sweet. Her attempts at being "good" when faced with impossible life situations left me wanting to rescue her from all the horrors dealt her throughout the story. Yet, I was left worried about the ultimate message this story sends the reader.
It's not that I am against "goodness" per se. But, how often are women sold these as their only two options in life (beauty & goodness)? Every time Jameela experiences another blow she tells her self, "Don't get angry. Don't get angry. Don't get angry." In the end, she devotes herself to being "good" through unquestioning obedience, working hard and piety. Once again, all great characteristics to embody. But, it appears that these characteristics are what in turn save her rather than her tenacity, intelligence and resilience.
Each time Jameela re-devotes herself to being good, a door of opportunity is opened. I fear this is the wrong message to send. While it is good to hold on to the traits Jameela demonstrates, rarely do these traits alone solve problems. While Jameela eventually gets to a place where she pushes back, it wasn't satisfying to me. It just felt too clean. I would have appreciated it if the author used the character to demonstrate some of the emotional problems associated with the travesties she faces. The protagonist ends up a romantic view of the good woman who survives difficulty. In my classroom with refugees, I witness first hand the long term, devastating effects of war, poverty and displacement have on a person. It is not as clean and romantic as the book would have the reader see.
It is our intolerance, anger and indignation that moves people to challenge institutions that perpetuate suffering. It is the act of "acting out" that creates important change. Where would we be if we all quietly went along with our suffering? We cannot "good" our way out of slavery, racial segregation, domestic abuse and other such social/personal problems. Learning how to push back, question, and demand are as equally important as being good and beautiful, if not more so.
A neatly written story. However, I would want a parent to read this story with their child to discuss some of the deeper implications of Jameela's character. I would not want a child to leave this story believing that the answer to injustice, pain and loss is "goodness".
February 26, 2011
Published: Groundwood Books, 2010
Age: 10 and up
Jameela is a young Afghani girl living during the Taliban and the American invasion with her mother and father. Her mother, whom she is very close to and gives her some security during this difficult time, suddenly dies. She lives in poverty, has no education and is born with a birth defect that left her with a cleft palette. Her father takes her to Kabul and does not care for her. He is a drunk and drug addicted and marries a woman for her home. The woman hates Jameela and treats her like a slave. When her son starts paying attention to Jameela, she tells her husband to abandon her in the Kabul market. Jameela is so trusting, she won’t even sit down because her father might not see her. A kind butcher takes Jameela to his home but cannot keep her so he brings her to an orphanage. Surprisingly, the orphanage turns out to be the best thing to happen to her. She gets educated and receives surgery to fix her cleft lip. Jameela’s strong Muslim faith and the memories of her mother give her strength through the terrifying events that happen to her.
Amazingly, this is based on a true story. It is unimaginable to think of a child having to go through the horrible ordeal of being abandoned in a busy marketplace by her own father. This is a portrayal of real life war torn conditions in Afghanistan after the American invasion. Most of Jameela’s relatives were killed so she had no one but her father. It also shows the way women are devalued. They couldn’t go to school and economic conditions led people to do desperate things. Western influence is seen throughout the book, but many people, like the girls in the orphanage didn’t trust Americans. Jameela never gets mad or bitter and I was cheering that she faced her father and stepmother in the end and realized their wickedness. The Pushto words mixed in the text are explained in a glossary in back and add authenticity to the story. The bright side were the good people who helped Jameela, such as the butcher and his family who took her in temporarily, the orphanage people who sought to fix her cleft lip, (although they had an agenda), and the Americans who performed the surgery. A lot of serious issues are found in the book, such as drug addiction, alcoholism, abandonment, poverty, orphanages, war, birth defects, banter, religion and faith, illiteracy, and the treatment of women in some countries.
Age: 10 and up
Jameela is a young Afghani girl living during the Taliban and the American invasion with her mother and father. Her mother, whom she is very close to and gives her some security during this difficult time, suddenly dies. She lives in poverty, has no education and is born with a birth defect that left her with a cleft palette. Her father takes her to Kabul and does not care for her. He is a drunk and drug addicted and marries a woman for her home. The woman hates Jameela and treats her like a slave. When her son starts paying attention to Jameela, she tells her husband to abandon her in the Kabul market. Jameela is so trusting, she won’t even sit down because her father might not see her. A kind butcher takes Jameela to his home but cannot keep her so he brings her to an orphanage. Surprisingly, the orphanage turns out to be the best thing to happen to her. She gets educated and receives surgery to fix her cleft lip. Jameela’s strong Muslim faith and the memories of her mother give her strength through the terrifying events that happen to her.
Amazingly, this is based on a true story. It is unimaginable to think of a child having to go through the horrible ordeal of being abandoned in a busy marketplace by her own father. This is a portrayal of real life war torn conditions in Afghanistan after the American invasion. Most of Jameela’s relatives were killed so she had no one but her father. It also shows the way women are devalued. They couldn’t go to school and economic conditions led people to do desperate things. Western influence is seen throughout the book, but many people, like the girls in the orphanage didn’t trust Americans. Jameela never gets mad or bitter and I was cheering that she faced her father and stepmother in the end and realized their wickedness. The Pushto words mixed in the text are explained in a glossary in back and add authenticity to the story. The bright side were the good people who helped Jameela, such as the butcher and his family who took her in temporarily, the orphanage people who sought to fix her cleft lip, (although they had an agenda), and the Americans who performed the surgery. A lot of serious issues are found in the book, such as drug addiction, alcoholism, abandonment, poverty, orphanages, war, birth defects, banter, religion and faith, illiteracy, and the treatment of women in some countries.
February 15, 2010
“I thought she was sleeping,” says Jameela at the beginning of this moving book. She describes how she discovered her mother, motionless and cold, one early morning. From this point on, her life changes drastically at a dizzying pace. Her father takes her away from the village she called home to live in Kabul. Jameela is self-conscious and constantly hides behind her porani due to her cleft palate. Not long after, her father remarries and Jameela’s stepmother convinces him to abandon Jameela. Thus, we follow Jameela as she struggles to keep up with her father to a busy street market, where he abandons her. Alone and scared, she ends up in an orphanage, struggling to find her place in the world and continuously wanting more.
Told in first person point of view, this novel is very engaging and allows readers a rare glimpse of what life is like for abandoned/orphan children in Afghanistan, after the U.S. invasion. Jameela is torn about the soldier’s presence in the region. They do harm and good, operating on her cleft palate but dropping bombs on parts of the city. The novel also sheds light on how women cover themselves and details a few reasons as to why they do this. At one point, Jameela and Zeba, a girl from the orphanage, are walking in the busy market and Jameela is more covered up than her friend. She observes that “Zeba’s hair flows out behind her in waves, and her kameez is tight and cut low. The same men that lower their gaze and step aside for me to pass brush right up against her. She doesn’t seem to realize it’s not an accident… A dirty young boy bumps right into Zeba then. I can see him squeeze her breast. This time Zeba gets mad and slaps him on the head. He runs off laughing” (p. 167). This, among other examples in the book, shows how the women cover up their bodies to exercise power over men and gain respect, contrary to how Westerners may look at the practice. Overall, this novel is well-written, poignant, and shows a culture many of us know little about. It is definitely worth the read and will leave you thinking long after you’ve put the bok down.
Told in first person point of view, this novel is very engaging and allows readers a rare glimpse of what life is like for abandoned/orphan children in Afghanistan, after the U.S. invasion. Jameela is torn about the soldier’s presence in the region. They do harm and good, operating on her cleft palate but dropping bombs on parts of the city. The novel also sheds light on how women cover themselves and details a few reasons as to why they do this. At one point, Jameela and Zeba, a girl from the orphanage, are walking in the busy market and Jameela is more covered up than her friend. She observes that “Zeba’s hair flows out behind her in waves, and her kameez is tight and cut low. The same men that lower their gaze and step aside for me to pass brush right up against her. She doesn’t seem to realize it’s not an accident… A dirty young boy bumps right into Zeba then. I can see him squeeze her breast. This time Zeba gets mad and slaps him on the head. He runs off laughing” (p. 167). This, among other examples in the book, shows how the women cover up their bodies to exercise power over men and gain respect, contrary to how Westerners may look at the practice. Overall, this novel is well-written, poignant, and shows a culture many of us know little about. It is definitely worth the read and will leave you thinking long after you’ve put the bok down.
March 11, 2011
"Wanting Mor" reminded me a bit of a Cinderella story, in that the main character, Jameela, loses her mother and is mistreated by her father and new stepmother. This is the second novel I have read recently that is set in Afghanistan, and I found the conditions for women to be shocking in both novels. Jameela is a young girl who suffers from a cleft lip. In the beginning of the story, her mother dies. The reader can immediately see the caution that Jameela takes when caring for her father who smokes opium and drinks alcohol regularly. Jameela is eager to please her father, yet he harshly uproots himself and Jameela to his hometown of Kabul, far from her mother's grave. Jameela is forced to work for a wealthy family, and when her father suddenly remarries a new woman, Jameela finds herself almost a slave. Jameela's father tricks her into thinking that they are leaving the stepmother for a better home and abandons her outside a butcher's shop. Fortunately, the butcher takes pity on Jameela and brings her first home to meet his family and then to an orphanage. In the orphanage, Jameela is able to have surgery on her cleft lip, make new friends, learn to read, and learn a bit about herself. At the end of the story, Jameela is forced to make a decision that will impact the rest of her life. She uses her newfound independence and self-confidence to make this decision.
I thought this story was very authentic and a great international book. I liked watching Jameela's character evolve throughout the book. At first she was extremely timid and worked so hard to please everyone. At the orphanage, I saw Jameela become more concerned with her looks, and even make her own choices about which friends she wanted to have. I was initially surprised that she chose to not be kind to some of the girls at the orphanage. However, I ended up liking her even more because she was more like a normal girl with different likes and dislikes. Her true feelings came out, making her a more interesting character.
I thought this story was very authentic and a great international book. I liked watching Jameela's character evolve throughout the book. At first she was extremely timid and worked so hard to please everyone. At the orphanage, I saw Jameela become more concerned with her looks, and even make her own choices about which friends she wanted to have. I was initially surprised that she chose to not be kind to some of the girls at the orphanage. However, I ended up liking her even more because she was more like a normal girl with different likes and dislikes. Her true feelings came out, making her a more interesting character.
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