Amina's Voice: 11/05/17

Amina's Voice by Hena Khan is a middle grade similar read to Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali. Amina is a Pakistani-American Muslim girl who loves to sing and is dreading the upcoming competition to recite pieces of the koran.

Now in middle school, Amina feels like she and her best friend, Soojan, are drifting apart. Soojan and her family are working towards becoming citizens and they've all decided to change their names to something more American. To Amina it seems like they're giving up something essential about themselves — even as she struggles with countless people who can't pronounce her name right (and don't want to learn how).

Then, there's Emily. She's the cool girl in school. She's American and now she's Soojan's friend. Amina remembers in grade school when she was a bully. Can she now be trusted?

Finally there's Amina's uncle. He's conservative. He has a very strict view of what it means to be a Muslim and it doesn't seem to include some of Amina's favorite things — like singing and playing music. As she's at that crucial age where she's trying to figure out who she is and who she is becoming – she takes what her uncle says very seriously — to the point that she's losing sleep with worry.

Five stars

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