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A review by thebooknerdmom
A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi
5.0
I received a free e-ARC of this book thanks to Edelweiss and Quill Tree Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
In this story we are following a young girl, Mimi, who travels with her mother to spend summer vacation in Pakistan at her grandparent’s house. There she befriends the cook’s daughter, Sakina, and agrees to teach her English. In exchange, Sakina agrees to help Mimi search for her long-lost father who Mimi discovers is in Karachi.
This story was written in dual perspectives; we read from Mimi’s perspective, an American on vacation in Pakistan, and Sakina’s perspective, a young Pakistani servant who has never been to school but dreams of going. I liked the dual perspectives as we are able to see how different things are for those with money vs those who don’t have it. One glimpse of this is when it comes to Sakina’s father and his diabetes. Dual perspectives also let us read the story as a native's perspective vs an outsider's perspective, so we as readers get a unique viewpoint.
Faruqi did a great job of showing the growth of the characters. We can see the change in how they view other cultures and in how they carry and present themselves.
I loved the descriptions of Karachi. From the food, to the clothes, to the traffic, we get vivid descriptions of the city. I loved being able to picture what the girls were eating or wearing.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. It tells an important message about acceptance and learning to open your eyes to other’s cultures without prejudices.
In this story we are following a young girl, Mimi, who travels with her mother to spend summer vacation in Pakistan at her grandparent’s house. There she befriends the cook’s daughter, Sakina, and agrees to teach her English. In exchange, Sakina agrees to help Mimi search for her long-lost father who Mimi discovers is in Karachi.
This story was written in dual perspectives; we read from Mimi’s perspective, an American on vacation in Pakistan, and Sakina’s perspective, a young Pakistani servant who has never been to school but dreams of going. I liked the dual perspectives as we are able to see how different things are for those with money vs those who don’t have it. One glimpse of this is when it comes to Sakina’s father and his diabetes. Dual perspectives also let us read the story as a native's perspective vs an outsider's perspective, so we as readers get a unique viewpoint.
Faruqi did a great job of showing the growth of the characters. We can see the change in how they view other cultures and in how they carry and present themselves.
I loved the descriptions of Karachi. From the food, to the clothes, to the traffic, we get vivid descriptions of the city. I loved being able to picture what the girls were eating or wearing.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. It tells an important message about acceptance and learning to open your eyes to other’s cultures without prejudices.