Amina’s Voice is an award-winning novel by Hena Khan that tells the story of Amina, a Pakistani-American girl who starts middle school and tackles all the challenges of growing up while fighting bigotry in her school and community. It is a powerful story that speaks to the universal difficulties middle school students face in finding friendship and family life, while also exposing the many acts of prejudice that students of color experience. At the same time, Amina’s Voice beautifully highlights how diverse communities can come together to support each other and make change.
Amina is a young Pakistani-American girl who grew up outside of Milwaukee with her loving mother, father, and older brother Mustafa. She has a beautiful singing voice and is a gifted pianist. However, Amina is afraid of public speaking and hates being the center of attention. Only her closest family and friends know how talented she is.
Amina’s best friend is Sujin, a Korean-American woman. Sujin is excited about her upcoming citizenship ceremony. She tells Amina that she is going to change her name to something more “American.” Amina worries that by giving up her name, Sujin will be giving up an important part of herself. She also wonders if this means that Sujin is changing and therefore their friendship. To make matters worse, Sujin befriends Emily, a girl who, along with other classmates, teases Amina and Sujin about their different foods and cultures. Amina is sure she will never be able to forgive Emily and befriend her, but Sujin keeps inviting her to join them.
Amina’s brother, Mustafa, has trouble avoiding trouble, and their parents put a lot of pressure on him to do well in school. Their mosque will be holding a Quran recitation contest with a scholarship awarded to the winner, and Amina’s parents expect the children to participate, which scares her. To top it off, their very conservative uncle, Taya Jaan, is coming for a visit from Pakistan. Her parents ask him to help the children prepare for the competition. One day, Amina hears Taya Jaan complaining to her father that she is playing too much music, saying it is “haram” or forbidden. The issue is debated in Islam and Amina’s parents disagree, but she doesn’t hear her father say anything to challenge her older brother. Amina remains confused and anxious.
The confusion leads Emily to believe that Amina has betrayed her trust. Sujin is horrified that her best friend might do something hurtful. Amina feels terrible and realizes that Emily was just trying to be friends after all. Feeling upset and embarrassed, Amina confesses to her mother what she heard Taya Jaan say. Her mother is adamant that her musical talents are a gift and she should continue to play and sing. She also tells Amina that her misunderstanding with Emily can be resolved through sympathetic communication. The conversations Amina has with her mother help her see things more clearly and find peace.
Unfortunately, this peace is interrupted when Amina’s mosque is horribly vandalized in a hate crime. The building is burned down and everything beautiful and sacred inside is torn and destroyed. Her family and the Muslim community are devastated by this loss. In a beautiful show of support, all members of the community come together, including the school, churches and synagogues, to support them and help rebuild. It is a powerful demonstration of solidarity.
To cheer themselves up, the parents encourage Amina to play the piano for those gathered in their home. This brings everyone great comfort in their grief, and Amina is pleasantly surprised to see that even Taya Jaan appreciates it and seems to have changed her mind. After reconciling with Sujin and Emily, Amina is surprised again when Emily’s father offers to donate his contract skills to help with the rebuilding. Sujin’s church holds a fundraiser for the mosque and also takes part in a Quran recitation contest, which, to everyone’s surprise, Mustafa wins!
With renewed confidence after her success at the Quran recitation competition, Amina decides to perform a solo at the school concert, which she had previously turned down. Her music teacher is thrilled, and when Amina takes the stage, she stuns the audience with a heartfelt and moving rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”, “believing the lyrics with all her might”.