A review by sarabearian
Amina's Voice by Hena Khan

4.0

Generally, I’ll give a positive review for Amina’s Voice. The book’s characters were well organized and thought out. The plan is well developed and executed. The anxieties about Amina’s fear of singing and speaking in public as well as her jealousies she has about her best friend’s increasing friendship with Emily, the girl who hangs around with the cool girls in the class, are the same anxieties that any schoolgirl or schoolboy would experience during middle school age. People could relate to the teasing Amina gets from the boys for having a difference in appearance because all kids get this type of treatment, at one point or another, not just because she has a cultural difference with them, because that is often what is what kids do during this period in their lives. Soojin’s character is typical of a character trying to fit in by changing her name, and “Americanizing” herself. Khan gives color to the father, Baba. He is often away from the family, which makes him aloof of family crisis sometimes. But he is understanding when he deals with Amina’s issues of studying with Thaya Jaan, and traditional when he tells Amina and her brother, Mustafa, that they have to enter the recitation competition. He becomes very serious when dealing with the issues when the Islamic Center is vandalized. Iman Malik, the cleric, can be stern yet understanding when he deals with Mustafa cutting class. Thay Jaan, Amina’s uncle, seems overtly traditional, but is well meaning, and also offers a good contrast to the rest of the characters in the book. The relationship between Baba, and his brother, Thaya Jaan is sometimes over the top with Baba often appearing overly submissive to him. The mother often too is traditional with her cooking, and her willingness to please Thaya Jaan by insisting he take more food. But otherwise, the mother is a reasonable person and emerges when crisis develops. The age of the kids in “Amina’s Voice” are young and are not of an age where they really start acting up, so the kids, as written in the book are fine. You’re happy she conquered her fear of singing in public, but overall, the author could have done more. One criticism I have of this book is the plot of the book is slow in developing, and it takes page 150 of a 190-page book for the conflict in the story to build up. The resolution is all bunched up in one last chapter which seems to rob Amina, the leading character, of having her make further contribution to the resolution of the story. Perhaps, the wording could have been used to make the to speed up the build-up, get Amina more in the resolution of the plot, and resolve the storyline without compromising its principles. Overall, though, I felt this a pleasant read, and would recommend this book to the public.
~Bob H.

Find a Copy at Scottsdale Public Library