Amina’s Voice: A novel by Hena Khan

Musically gifted Amina struggles to blend in at middle school which ushers a lot of changes. Her best friend Soojin has befriended another classmate Emily whom the Pakistani-American girl from Wisconsin distrusts.

Amina, who is happy just hanging out with her best friend and has never liked being in the spotlight, doesn’t approve of Soojin’s friendship with Emily who along with another girl used to make fun of them in elementary school.

Soojin, who seems to accept Emily, is about to be granted citizenship and intends to change her Korean name for something more American in this moving coming of age novel from the award-winning author of Its Ramadan, Curios George and Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns.   

Meanwhile, Amina’s family is hosting her great uncle from Pakistan, who is a very strict Muslim and tells her father the girl should be focusing on memorizing Quran.

Amina’s  parents also don’t approve of her older brother Mustafa’s activities and his interest in basketball after his poor performance at middle school.

But they want their daughter and son to participate in a Quran recitation competition  to be held at an Islamic Centre and that is exactly what would please their great uncle.

Amina’s dilemma is she can play the piano, has a beautiful voice and a penchant to perform in public but she can’t speak in public. As she prepares to publically read a passage from Quran, the Islamic Centre is destroyed by vandals, adding to the confusion of the girl who grapples with the question whether she needs to start changing too .

Hena Khan beautifully depicts Amina’s honest reaction over Soojin’s hanging out with Emily, vandalism of the Islamic Centre and her uncle’s comments about her interest in music besides highlighting the way how an individual can bring communities together.

The novel will be available on March 14, 2017.