The Servant

Gr 8 Up—Forced to supplement her family's income, Faten must leave behind her village, friends, and schooling to work as a maid in Beirut for a family with two daughters and an unkind, demanding housewife. As she goes about her daily chores, she dreams of returning to school and becoming a nurse in the war-torn city. With the aid of another housekeeper in her building, she seeks help from an admired stranger in the building across the street. Marwan not only facilitates the testing Faten will need to enter college, but he also becomes her clandestine love interest. The teen's plans suddenly come to a halt when her employer discovers that she has lied to them about the days she spent away from work to take her baccalaureate exams. Suddenly, Faten is unemployed and sent back to her hometown where she must convince her angry father that investing in her education will bring the family more money than she makes as a housekeeper. Faten creates an ambitious and independent plan to continue her studies and return to Beirut. This quick, straightforward, Cinderella story mirrors the plight of young girls all over the world who are forced to sacrifice their own goals to support their families. However, this modern-day fairy tale abandons the prince as the problem solver and instead features a heroine whose talent, work ethic, and ambition break the spell of servitude and poverty.—Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD