Amina's Song
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature
In the companion novel to the beloved and award-winning Amina’s Voice, Amina once again uses her voice to bridge the places, people, and communities she loves—this time across continents.
It’s the last few days of an amazing trip to Pakistan, and Amina finds it hard to leave the sights, the shops, and, most of all, her family. As she heads back to Greendale to start seventh grade, the experience has changed her, and she’s eager to share it with her friends.
At home, though, Amina discovers her friends don’t seem interested in hearing about her trip. With everyone growing in different directions, Amina wonders where she belongs—especially after her school presentation on Malala goes sideways, leaving her feeling like nobody understands both her worlds. When Amina turns to songwriting, a boy named Nico who shares Amina’s love for music becomes a welcome new friend. Will Amina find a way to remain true to herself, and to honor everyone and everything that make her who she is?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this sequel to Amina's Voice, Khan returns to the world of Pakistani American teenager Amina Khokar, whose monthlong trip to Lahore is coming to an end as the book opens. Upon her return to Wisconsin, Amina begins seventh grade smoothly, without the friendship conflicts that plagued her the previous year. To her disappointment, however, her classmates appear uninterested in hearing more about her trip and the people and vibrant places she's come to love, even while feeling excluded from aspects of Pakistani culture. Her decision to dress up as Malala Yousafzai for a school project provokes negative commentary on Pakistan, even though "girls suffer from injustice everywhere in the world." Meanwhile, the presence of Nico, a new French Egyptian classmate, sees Amina navigating the viability of platonic male-female friendships, as he partners with Amina to complete a songwriting project. With his help, she aims to showcase her love of Pakistan and challenge her American classmates' assumptions. Though the prose style can feel somewhat simplistic at times, Amina remains engag-ing throughout, with her close familial relationships and self-proclaimed "identity crisis" as part of both cultures enabling frank discussions, and well-rounded supporting characters lending layers to the narrative. Ages 8–12.
