Amina's Voice by Hena Khan

  Amina's Voice by Hena Khan. 2017, Salaam Reads (an imprint of Simon & Schuster4 Children's Publishing Division). Children's fiction.


  Amina and Soojin have been friends a long time. Now they are in middle school and Emily seems to want to be right between them. Amina's uncle has come to visit with her family and her  parents worry that he may think Amina's family has become too Americanized. Amina and her older brother, Mustafa, want to honor their Pakistani heritage, but also like growing up in America.  When tragedy strikes their community, it seems like the two different cultures cannot be reconciled. Will Amina find a way to keep old friends, make new friends, speak up for what she believes in, and even to use her singing talents?  


   Khan has featured a Muslim heroine in Amina and worked in details such as attempts to learn Arabic, follow the teachings of the Imam, and controversy over the Quran competition with the usual traumas and fun of being a student in Greendale Middle School. Her diverse background and strong family make Amina stronger than she ever thinks she can be.