Belonging by Sameem Ali.

This book is a true story first person narrative about a British Asian girl. It is a survivor tale that opens a world that is unseen to most of the British public. Follow Sameem as she grows up and is treated so horribly by people she should have been able to trust. This is a gripping story that deals with difficult cultural issues faced by British children of Pakistani parents.

This book is easy to read and understand. Sameem talks the reader through British Asian family life in the same way as she had to learn about her new family when she left the Children's Home. Sameem is frequently beaten and treated like a slave. At the age of 13, she is taken to Pakistan, forced to marry a complete stranger and 2 months later falls pregnant. As if things can't get any worse, Sameem returns to Britain and her abuse and torments continue. More drama happens but right at the end of her story, there is a happy ending.

I am pleased that Sameem has written and published her story. She is not alone and her circumstances are not unique. It is good that her tale is now in the public domain as nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. Perpetrators of abuse are very good at hiding their actions from the public and know how to hit so it does not show.

I really enjoyed reading Belonging because it allowed me to enter a very private world. It was great to look at the world through the eyes of Sameem and learn about different cultural and family roles. I developed an empathy for Sameem right from the very start. She does not tell her story in a sweet, slushy way but in a frank, matter of fact manner. I felt that things could have been so very different if there had been a good follow up when Sameem left the Children's Home.

The editing of Belonging is very good and the story is told in a professional manner. You are not left with any gaps and everything makes sense. The timeline is strictly adhered to and the story does NOT have those annoying flashbacks found in so many books.

This book is so well written and is very easy to relate to. I am a 55 year old, white skinned English Atheist man, yet her writing is so good that I so easily dropped into the shoes of a brown skinned, British Asian/Pakistani Muslim girl. This shows the quality of her writing AND how this book should appeal to everyone. I read this book whilst on holiday and when I finished reading it I felt both refreshed and enlightened. For me there is only one vote I can give Belonging, the maximum score of 5 stars. Sameem has done well to survive her upbringing and when I read on page 280 that in May 2007 she was elected as a Labour Party councillor for Moss Side, Manchester, I thought "well done girl!".

Belonging was written in 2008 and has 281 pages.