Reviews

Amina's Voice, by Hena Khan

orangerful's review against another edition

3.0

Sweet, if simple story of a Pakastani girl in the U.S. dealing with the stresses of being 13 and growing up and trying to find her place. Things that pretty much every kid can identify with. There is the added plot of her Muslim heritage as Amina tries to understand her family at home and balance that with the family she barely knows from Pakistan. When her uncle visits, she learns a bit more about the stricter followers of Islam.

But it has a super-mega-happy ending where everything is okay, so it is a good read for older elementary our young middle school readers who like realistic fiction.

drpschmidt's review against another edition

5.0

Such an important story right now! There is so much to love about these characters and this book. Amina's family comes to the United States from Pakistan and her best friend Soojin's family comes from Korea; Urdu, Arabic, and Korean words and phrases are sprinkled throughout which was fascinating to me and could be an amazing learning experience for young readers!

Certain aspects of this story are specific to the life of a young, Muslim girl living in America...and then there are aspects that are universal...a fight with her best friend, and even the fear of performing in public. What makes this book so effective is that these elements are woven together seamlessly!

hazelstaybookish's review against another edition

5.0

This is such an important MG book! It's effortlessly diverse and incredibly heartfelt.

mld8's review against another edition

3.0

I had read a couple reviews to get an idea before reading this to my class, and though I didn’t want to believe them, the reviews were right. The music plot thread was barely coherent, the author kept throwing names of side characters that didn’t particularly matter out. I think it would be a good book to expose kids to Muslim culture, but I would’ve enjoyed a little more. Relatable topics include friendship issues, performance anxiety, and coming together with community to survive.

amysutton's review against another edition

4.0

I would have loved this one as a young reader. Amina struggles with many topics including making her parents proud, processing friend drama, being a good friend even when you make mistakes, and dealing with an event of religious/ethnic persecution. Amina has to learn to be true to herself and overcome her fears of performing. This one is a slow paced book with rich characters and relatable struggles. There are many things here to unpack and discuss.

lnluck13's review against another edition

4.0

Read as an audiobook

RTC!

4☆
Warnings for bullying, racism, Islamophobia, and hate crimes

lost_goddess's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Amina struggles with transitioning to middle school, shifting friend groups, and figuring out who she is. These are issues all 6th graders face when they start middle school,  so the story is very relatable to people from all different cultures. 

It all blows up as Amina accidentally betrays a friend, overhears a religious disagreement between her conservative uncle and her less conservative father that devastates her, and her mosque is targeted by racists.

This is a great middle grades read, and I can't wait to read the follow up novel.

octygon's review against another edition

4.0

I was interested in reading this middle grade book because the main character is a Muslim girl living in America. I work at a school where we have some Muslim children, and I was excited to be able to offer them a book in which they could see themselves. Having read the book, I happily purchased it for both libraries where I work. While it is not the most earth-shatteringly creative piece of literature I have read, the characters lead everyday lives in our country and that, really, is the point. This girl is like any other 12 year-old girl, navigating American suburban family life and middle school fears and insecurities, just with an added dimension that her religion and her family history and culture are Muslim. The book was well-done, the characters seemed like real people, and I enjoyed having the chance to get to know them.

alicehenryli's review against another edition

3.0

i enjoyed the book thoroughly and i appreciated that it tackled heavy various issues without being too heavy.

abigailbat's review against another edition

4.0

Just a really solid contemporary middle grade novel, this is the kind of book I would have loved as a kid. Amina is smart and talented, but she's shy and doesn't have a lot of friends. When her best friend Soojin (a girl she's always had something in common with because she and her parents are immigrants to America, too) decides to adopt a new American name after her citizenship ceremony, Amina starts feeling like she doesn't know her best friend as well as she thought. Soojin is hanging out with another girl Emily this year, despite the fact that Emily has said some pretty mean things about her in the past. Amina is feeling jealous. But she's got other things to worry about, too. Her uncle is coming from Pakistan for three months and he's a much stricter Muslim than her family, so things might be different. And her parents have signed her up for the Quran reading competition at their mosque, which terrifies Amina; she hates speaking in front of groups.

It is awesome to see a contemporary Muslim character in a book that depicts her life but is also centered around universal issues like dealing with friends, having an older brother who's straying from the fold, and being worried about an upcoming competition.

Hand this to kids who love contemporary, realistic fiction about friendship and growing older.