Amina’s Song
Hena Khan
Simon & Schuster / Salaam Reads
Published March 9, 2021
About Amina’s Song
It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Amina has loved every minute of it. The food, the shops, the time she’s spent with her family—all of it holds a special place in Amina’s heart. Now that the school year is starting again, she’s sad to leave, but also excited to share the wonders of Pakistan with her friends back in Greendale.
After she’s home, though, her friends don’t seem overly interested in her trip. And when she decides to do a presentation on Pakistani hero Malala Yousafzai, her classmates focus on the worst parts of the story. How can Amina share the beauty of Pakistan when no one wants to listen?
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.
My Review
I read AMINA’S SONG at the perfect time– just when I needed a warm, fun story of community and family and belonging. I loved the chapters showing Amina with her family in Pakistan. The descriptions of the market, the rooftop, and the food all made those scenes come to life. I also loved Amina’s relationship with her cousin Zohra and her uncle.
I also loved the way the story followed her faith and her connection with her mosque and the ways she and others sought to help refugees who had just come to America. That generosity and welcoming warmth was really sweet.
As with AMINA’S VOICE, this story also focuses on Amina’s internal journey. She feels caught between her love for America and Pakistan and at a loss for how to explain and show that love to the people in her life on each side. I love that her path led her to compose her own music and challenged her to find ways to speak up, both in her class project about Malala and in her friendships.
All in all, I’d say this book is another winner. It’s got a strong faith-positive message, and a beautiful celebration of community as well as a thoughtful, brave heroine in Amina. Readers who enjoy multicultural stories or are looking for books that celebrate community will definitely want this one on their shelves.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation
Amina’s family are Pakinstani-American Muslims. The first part of the book takes places in Lahore, Pakistan, where Amina is visiting her family.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
Amina makes friends with a boy at school and her friends tease her about being romantically interested. She is not allowed to date, and believes she wants to simply be friends with Nico.
Spiritual Content
Amina and her family are Muslims. She talks about reading the Quran and spending time in prayer. She’s also involved with continued fundraising to rebuild the mosque her family attends after it was vandalized a year earlier.
Violent Content
Amina learns about Malala and briefly discusses that she was shot in the head by the Taliban. She tells her cousin she was afraid to come to Pakistan because of the stories of violence she’d heard on the news. Her cousins in Pakistan worry that Amina and her brother could be shot, since they see reports of school shootings in the news so often.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of AMINA’S SONG in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. All opinions are my own.
