Amina's Voice

Amina has a beautiful singing voice and perfect pitch, but she is painfully shy and too scared to ever sing a solo.  She'd rather blend in with the rest of the choir.

Amina feels like she lives two lives, one at home with her Pakistani culture and one at school.  Her best friend, Soojin, is Korean-American, and it's always just been the two of them.  Now that they are in middle school, things are changing.  Emily, who's always been in the mean girl crowd, is suddenly trying to hang out with Amina and Soojin, and Amina is worried Soojin will drop her for a new best friend.

On the weekends, Amina's family spends time at the Muslim community center where she spends time with her Muslim friends and learns Arabic.  When tragedy strikes at the center, the entire community feels the blow.

Hena Khan's novel is a sweet middle school story about friendship and fitting in with the added bonus of cultural exploration.  This book is a great pick for middle school because it can serve as a much-needed mirror for Muslim youth and a window for those who don't know much about the culture.