Amina's Voice

by Hena Khan

Paperback, 2018

Status

Available

Publication

Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (2018), Edition: Reprint, 208 pages

Description

"A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family's vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school after tragedy strikes her community"--

User reviews

LibraryThing member foggidawn

Amina's life is full of questions: why is Emily, a former mean girl, trying to break into Amina's friend group? Can Amina find the courage to sing in her school concert despite debilitating stage fright? Will Amina's visiting Pakistani uncle disapprove of her family's American lifestyle? Will

Amina's parents make her participate in the upcoming Quran recitation contest despite the aforementioned stage fright? All of this is eclipsed when the mosque Amina's family attends is horrifically vandalized. In the wake of the attack, Amina must finally find her voice.

Young readers of all backgrounds will see themselves in Amina's school and family struggles. The book does a good job of showing some elements of Muslim religious practice without seeming didactic or taking readers out of the story. I would have appreciated a glossary of some of the terms used, but most could be inferred from context. This is a lovely book that I definitely recommend.

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LibraryThing member Jenica_Flores

Amina has a really hard time fitting in with other kids at school while at the same time expressing her culture like her parents want her to. Amina does not like attention and is perfectly okay with just hanging out with her friend Soojin. She gets very upset when her mosque is vandalized, but her

voice in the community bring joy to other young Pakistani Americans.
I would read this book to 2nd through 5th grade and use this book to teach my students to not change themselves to fit in with a group and to always express themselves. I would also teach them to always embrace their culture and always be accepting to other people’s cultures.

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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm

Good story about family, friends, and faith, but a little too many story lines.

LibraryThing member HeatherLINC

"Amina's Voice" was an okay story for younger readers and gave a good insight into what it is like growing up in a Muslim family. However, I did find Amina fairly self-centred, especially when she thought her best friend was becoming friends with another girl, and there were parts where the plot

was flat.

There were some good themes raised in "Amina's Voice" but they were only touched upon. A quick, easy read, but not a compelling one.

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LibraryThing member ewyatt

Amina has a beautiful voice, but she has a hard time using it in public. Things seem to be changing in middle school, and she is worried her best friend Soo-jin is changing. Emily, a girl who had made fun of them in their past, suddenly wants to be friends. Amina is suspicious and jealous.
A lot of

middle school problems of friendship and fitting in couple with interesting cultural issues about Amina's performance in Sunday School, her ability to speak Arabic, and her uncle's visit from Pakistan.
A touching quick read.

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LibraryThing member Carolee888

Good story about a Pakistani American during her first year of middle school. Amina was best friends with Soo-Jin who was to become a citizen this year. There are the concerns of jealousy,acceptance and trying to meet her parents approval. But there are lessons from the Quran, from her visting

Uncle from Pakistan, some Urdu and the value of music. Also, the sense of community not only from the mosque members but from the schools she attended and the outside faith community.

I received this Advance Reading Copy from the publishers as a win from the FirstReads contest. My thoughts and feelings in this review are entirely my own..

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LibraryThing member jennybeast

School story -- Amina and her best friend Soojin have been through a lot together, so when Emily (a previous tormenter) begins to make friends with Soojin, Amina is untrusting. She's also trying to reconcile her desire to sing in public with her massive stagefright, and to figure out how to

interact with a visiting uncle, who has different values, Pakistani values, that do not always mesh with Amina's family. There's also an upcoming competition to read the Koran that she's expected to participate in, and their beloved mosque comes under attack. There's a lot going on in this book, but it's incredibly well done, and reads true to the life of a contemporary sixth grader. Amina and her friends have a lot of challenges, but her family is there for her, her community comes through, and she finds friendship and hopefulness in places she never expected. Feel good, well paced, authentic.

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