Realistic OwnVoices for elementary and middle-schoolers

These books are great entries in the “OwnVoices” category of books about regular kids with non-European backgrounds—in this case, Muslim girls living in the United States. These are everyday, ordinary kids, leading everyday ordinary lives, but their experiences give some insight to non-Muslim readers about what the lives of Muslim teens are like. Just as with teens of other religions, the characters’ faith is a part of their life. They question their relationship with their faith, try to be examples of their faith, etc.
 

Saints and Misfits
By S.K. Ali
Publisher : Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (June 12, 2018)
Paperback : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 1481499254
ISBN-13 : 978-1481499255
Reading age : 14 years and up
Lexile measure : HL710L
Grade level : 9 - 12
 
Publisher’s Blurb:
There are three kinds of people in my world:
1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They’re in your face so much, you can’t see them, like how you can’t see your nose.
2. Misfits, people who don’t belong. Like me—the way I don’t fit into Dad’s brand-new family or in the leftover one composed of Mom and my older brother, Mama’s-Boy-Muhammad.
Also, there’s Jeremy and me. Misfits. Because although, alliteratively speaking, Janna and Jeremy sound good together, we don’t go together. Same planet, different worlds.
But sometimes worlds collide and beautiful things happen, right?
3. Monsters. Well, monsters wearing saint masks, like in Flannery O’Connor’s stories.
Like the monster at my mosque.
People think he’s holy, untouchable, but nobody has seen under the mask.
Except me.
 
My Thoughts:
I sped through this book in an evening. The characters were engaging and imperfect, and real. Janna is a high school sophomore, dealing with being in a gifted program, having a crush (on a non-Muslim boy!), bullying, her parents’ divorce and father’s remarriage…and being a victim of sexual assault.
 
Of course, the boy who assaulted her is much admired at the mosque where Janna’s uncle is imam. That’s why she’s afraid to tell everyone what happened, even though she lives in fear every time the boy is near, or even looks at her. Eventually, though, she finds the courage to speak out.
 
Janna’s friends and acquaintances play a part, and I love that their motives aren’t always pure, and that they sometimes disappoint her, because that’s what life is really like. Her mother and brother don’t always understand her, and it seems like they often treat her as if she can’t understand adult issues, which frustrates her.
 
I’m looking forward to the forthcoming sequel, Misfits in Love.
 
Who Might Like This Book:
People who like coming-of-age stories. People who want to learn more about cultures other than white-bread American.
 
Possible Objectionable Material:
Some sneaking around. Teenage drinking. Bullying. Sexual assault, briefly and non-graphically described. I would totally let my rather naïve 13-year-old read it.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
 

Amina’s Voice
By Hena Khan
Publisher : Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (May 1, 2018)
Paperback : 208 pages
ISBN-10 : 1481492071
ISBN-13 : 978-1481492072
Reading age : 8 - 12 years
Lexile measure : 800L
Grade level : 3 - 7
 
Publisher’s Blurb:
A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family’s vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school after tragedy strikes her community in this “compassionate, timely novel” (Booklist, starred review) from the award-winning author of It’s Ramadan, Curious George and Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns.
Amina has never been comfortable in the spotlight. She is happy just hanging out with her best friend, Soojin. Except now that she’s in middle school everything feels different. Soojin is suddenly hanging out with Emily, one of the “cool” girls in the class, and even talking about changing her name to something more “American.” Does Amina need to start changing too? Or hiding who she is to fit in? While Amina grapples with these questions, she is devastated when her local mosque is vandalized.
Amina’s Voice brings to life the joys and challenges of a young Pakistani-American and highlights the many ways in which one girl’s voice can help bring a diverse community together to love and support each other.
 
My Thoughts:
This book aimed at late-elementary to middle school age is a nice look at the changes that kids go through as they make the transition into middle school. So many times this is an opportunity for kids to reinvent themselves, a theme in this book.
 
Amina enjoys being best friends with another immigrant girl, and when her friend tries to become more Americanized, Amina is left questioning whether she should do the same. She loves her heritage, and is worried that others might expect her to hide it.
 
There is a typical middle-school plot of changes in friend groups, and wondering whether there will be room for her as her bestie enlarges their friend circle. I say this is a typical plot, and it is, but not that it is a bad thing. It’s important for middle school girls, because they mature at such different rates. Mine is a late bloomer, and I see her feeling left behind as her friends’ interests change.
 
There is also a subplot of a visiting, rather disapproving uncle from Pakistan, and how Amina learns not to be afraid of him.
 
Predictably, Amina does gain confidence as the story progresses, and finds her voice.
 
Who might like this book:
Those who want to learn more about cultures other than their own. Those who like coming of age.
 
Possible objectionable material:
Vandalism. Friendship drama.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
 

Amina’s Song
By Hena Khan
Publisher : Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (March 9, 2021)
Hardcover : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 153445988X
ISBN-13 : 978-1534459885
Reading age : 8 - 12 years
Grade level : 3 - 7
 
Publisher’s Blurb:
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?
 
My Thoughts:
Amina’s story continues, first as she visits her uncle in Pakistan. The descriptions of her visit there are vivid and make me want to see the sights for myself.
 
It’s on Amina’s return home and going back to school that the story really picks up. She continues to deal with some of the issues of the first book, as she and her friends continue to grow and change in their interests.
 
I really like that Amina’s friendship with a boy is just that—a friendship, not a romance. I really hate the pressure on kids to find a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” so young, and this book resists the urge to pair kids off.
 
Amina’s development in the first book has not magically solved all her problems (yay!), and she continues to struggle at times with the spotlight and with learning to express herself.
 
Again, Khan gives us a window into a culture that may not be familiar to all of us. That is the beauty of books—they allow us the opportunity to experience new cultures and new ideas, and, in the end, become more empathetic and more understanding.
 
Who might like this book:
Those who want to learn more about cultures other than their own. Those who like coming of age.
 
Possible objectionable material:
Friendship drama.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.