Soojin's family moved from South Korea to America when she was four years old. Soojin has been Amina's best friend since third grade when her family moved to Greendale just outside Milwaukee. Her family owns a restaurant in downtown Milwaukee called Park Avenue Deli. Soojin is excited at the prospect of becoming an American citizen. Her family will be sworn in as new citizens in October and Soojin is considering choosing an American name.
With the new school year starting, Amina watches as their classmate Emily, who has always put her and Soojin down, is friendly towards Soojin. Amina is distrustful of Emily's intentions because of her actions in the past. She has commented on Amina and Soojin teaching each other Urdu and Korean, and she's started rumours about Soojin's family serving dog at their restaurant. Amina can't understand why Soojin doesn't remember how mean Emily has been to them. When she asks Soojin after school, she tells Amina that she needs to give Emily a chance.
Amina is unhappy when Soojin agrees to let Emily join them to work on a project about the Oregon trail. At Soojin's house Amina questions her friend as to whether or not she really wants to be friends with Emily and is worried she will lose her best friend to Emily. Emily begins sitting with them at lunch, appears to enjoy Soojin's Korean food and then confides in them about a boy she likes.
Meanwhile at home, Baba announces that Thaya Jaan - his older brother will be visiting from Pakistan. Baba is worried Bhai Jaan won't like they way they live in America. Baba's older brother's visit is worrisome because "Bhai Jaan is set in his ways". Baba's worries prove founded as Bhai Jaan is critical of the way Amina and Mustafa are being raised. His views begin to cause confusion and worry for Amina.
Besides struggling with her friendship with Soojin and her confusion over what her Muslim faith teaches, Amina also struggles with stage fright. She has a beautiful voice and can play piano but Amina doesn't want to participate in the Quran competition at her mosque, nor does she want to perform in the Winter Choral Concert. Amina dislikes performing in front of people because she's afraid of making a mistake and being ridiculed.
Amina and Soojin's friendship is tested when Amina reveals a secret Emily entrusted to them. Not only this but Amina struggles to deal with family issues: Mustafa's ability to make responsible choices is questioned, and Baba and Mama must confront Bhai Jaan about their right to raise their children as they wish. All of this is set against the backdrop of a terrible act of vandalism against the Islamic center that ultimately draws the community together.
Discussion
Amina's Voice tells the story of a young girl's struggles to deal with everyday life while growing up, against the backdrop of religious prejudice in America. Khan has included a diverse cast of characters that include the Pakistani-American Khohar family, the Korean Park family and Emily whose grandmother is Polish. Young readers will learn a little about Pakistani and Korean culture, with some emphasis on food! Khan includes many descriptions of the food that Amina's family eats. For example Amina's family serves their guest Bhai Jaan curried chicken, spicy spinach lamb stew, naan and lentils. Later on dessert consists of gulab jamun, described by Amina as "sticky, sweet, doughnutlike treats" in a "thick honey-colored syrup." When Amina visits Soojin's home she's careful to avoid the extra fridge reserved for making kimchi, fermented cabbage or other vegetables.
The Khohar family however is the main focus of the story and they are realistically portrayed with Khan showing them to be a typical American family in many ways. Their children experience the same problems and struggles as other American children while their parents have the same worries as parents everywhere do.
Amina's Voice explores the theme of friendship, encouraging readers to consider what constitutes being a good friend and the role forgiveness and acceptance play in friendship. Amina finds her friendship with her best friend Soojin changing. While Amina struggles to forgive the unkindness of a classmate, Soojin is more willing to forget the past. When Amina reminds Soojin of all the terrible things Emily has said and done, Soojin replies, "I don't know. She used to be really immature. But I think she's changed. She makes an effort, and she's not so bad." As Amina and Soojin spend more time with Emily, Amina realizes Emily's life might not be what she thought it was. "Emily's life always seemed perfect to me, but now I wonder if maybe it isn't."
Despite this revelation, Amina feels both panic and jealousy as Soojin and Emily begin to connect and spend more time together. Soojin and Emily discover they have much in common; they both live with grandparents and annoying little sisters, and they both have similar religious beliefs. This leads Amina to worry these connections will lead to the loss of her friendship with Soojin. She repeatedly attempts to push Emily away, but Soojin remains firm in her friendship with both Emily and Amina. What Amina doesn't realize is that Emily's confiding in them about her crush on a classmate indicates that Emily considers them both friends and trustworthy. She reveals this is why she is no longer friends with Julie. When Amina reveals Emily's secret, this breaks both Soojin and Emily's trust in Amina.
However, both Soojin and Emily demonstrate that their friendship with Amina is true by forgiving her. Soojin comes to the meeting at the school cafeteria to comfort Amina after the attack on the mosque and when Amina apologizes again, Soojin explains to Amina that they formed an opinion about Emily without really knowing her. It is at this point that Amina realizes Emily was also trying to be friends with her. From this experience Amina decides she will never "betray a friend's trust again."
At the same time Amina begins to experience confusion about her Muslim faith when her Thaya Jaan comes to visit. Her uncle has some strict interpretations of their Muslim faith and this leads him to question Baba as to why the children don't speak Urdu. Later on Amina overhears Bhai Jaan criticizing her father for allowing her to sing and play piano. "...music is forbidden in Islam. It's a waste of time and has no benefit. Instead of filling her head with music, she should focus on memorizing Quran." Amina wonders if she is doing something wrong. "I can't shake the uneasy feeling that has settled on me like dust for days -- have I been doing something wrong, or un-Islamic, by spending so much of my time singing and playing piano." When she questions her father about why God hates music, Amina's mother explains that "God does not hate music. I don't believe that, or that it's wrong for you to play or to sing. Why would he give you so much talent then?" Eventually Amina's parents intervene and explain to her uncle that they have the right to teach their children their own values. These scenes serve to demonstrate that the Muslim faith includes many variations of belief and practice - Amina's family are less strict about following certain practices than Bhai Jaan. This is no different from those who practice Christianity or Judaism.
Amina's Voice tackles the sensitive issue of religious persecution of Muslims in America in a way that is suitable for younger readers. The vandalism and arson is described but not in a graphic manner. Instead the focus is on how the Muslim community reacts to the destruction of their beloved mosque and cultural center and how the community pulls together to help their Muslim brothers and sisters. The lesson here is that hate can be overcome by acts of goodwill and love.
CNN has indicated that there have been an average of nine mosques targeted every month from January to July 2017 (this includes threats, arson and vandalism) in America. However, there have been no reported attacks on mosques in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The attack on the mosque in Amina's Voice will seem quite real to younger readers but it is fictional. It would have been helpful if Khan had included a note at the back of her novel to explain that the attack described in the story was fictional but that religious prejudice in America is a growing problem and that freedom of religion is guaranteed under the United States constitution.
The cover of Amina's Voice while colourful and attractive is somewhat reminiscent of a Disney princess perhaps helpful in drawing in young readers.
Amina's Voice is a worthwhile read that offers young readers the opportunity to explore diverse characters and their culture, to think about the meaning of friendship and to consider the growing problem of religious discrimination, particularly towards, but not limited to Muslims. It is a well-written novel that handles a difficult topic in a sensitive and positive manner.
Book Details:
Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
New York: Salaam Reads 2017
197 pp.
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