Iqbal is the story of Iqbal, Fatima, and other child slaves in Pakistan. What makes this book riveting is that it is a modern day story of child labor/slavery. Poor villagers in Pakistan are often forced into situations where the only way to pay their debt is to send a child to work in the brickyards, carpet factories or mines for which they get paid nearly nothing and end up in a never-ending cycle of bondage.
Iqbal escapes from the master and brings liberators to the carpet factory. He then speaks to audiences in Sweden and the United States about the real life issues of these children. The author doesn't sugar coat the realities but neither is she overly graphic which makes this book a great classroom option.

As a personal aside, I don't think that I could ever purchase a hand-knotted carpet after reading this novel. I will never look at them the same. Machine knotted is okay-fine by me.