Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by book_dropper
Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
4.0
I think this is the first book that I added to my TBR and I finally read it which was interesting since I didn't know what this book would be about. I'm not exactly sure why I wanted to read it, I think it was because of the cover since it's so pretty and it was a fast read so I never removed it from my TBR. Also, I would say to take my review lightly since the representation in this book isn't my culture and I can't critique whether the representation is done well or not since I'm not well versed in it.
The story itself was very interesting to me since you can tell this was about Amina trying to figure out who she is. There's also a great storytelling and balance between Amina's life in school with her friends and the changes they're going through with her religious life as we see that she's not feeling secure or mostly learning what it is to be Muslim, and also the tragedies that they experience in America. There's no doubt that Amina goes through racism and microaggressions since the destruction of her mosque is one of the biggest plots and then she goes through the same in school where she witnesses her best friend, Soojin (she's Korean), get made fun of for the food she brings. I will say that Emily, who was their bully turned friend, took a lot for me to get use to since I didn't like her at first since she bullied Amina and Soojin and never truly apologized from it, she just started talking to them as if they were her friends. I understand why Amina was more protective, not jealous, about Emily and Soojin being friends since there was never really a moment that Amina felt that she could trust Emily.
I won't lie but it did take me awhile for me to enjoy the book and I would say that the last half or moments where it was about Amina and her family is what intrigued me the most. I understand that this is a children's book and having the scenes in school are important since that's what takes up most of their lives. However, moments with the family is what interested me the most since I got to learn a bit about Amina's Pakistani culture and the teachings of being Muslim.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and encourage everyone to read this book. The story was written so beautifully and something that I really enjoyed reading. I didn't know that it was a duology but I'll definitely be reading the second book.
The story itself was very interesting to me since you can tell this was about Amina trying to figure out who she is. There's also a great storytelling and balance between Amina's life in school with her friends and the changes they're going through with her religious life as we see that she's not feeling secure or mostly learning what it is to be Muslim, and also the tragedies that they experience in America. There's no doubt that Amina goes through racism and microaggressions since the destruction of her mosque is one of the biggest plots and then she goes through the same in school where she witnesses her best friend, Soojin (she's Korean), get made fun of for the food she brings. I will say that Emily, who was their bully turned friend, took a lot for me to get use to since I didn't like her at first since she bullied Amina and Soojin and never truly apologized from it, she just started talking to them as if they were her friends. I understand why Amina was more protective, not jealous, about Emily and Soojin being friends since there was never really a moment that Amina felt that she could trust Emily.
I won't lie but it did take me awhile for me to enjoy the book and I would say that the last half or moments where it was about Amina and her family is what intrigued me the most. I understand that this is a children's book and having the scenes in school are important since that's what takes up most of their lives. However, moments with the family is what interested me the most since I got to learn a bit about Amina's Pakistani culture and the teachings of being Muslim.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and encourage everyone to read this book. The story was written so beautifully and something that I really enjoyed reading. I didn't know that it was a duology but I'll definitely be reading the second book.