Within 30 hours, I had finished reading the book that I had eagerly waited to get published. Amina’s Song is the sequel of Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan. Just last year, I emailed the author after reading Amina’s Voice. She even replied to me! Her email really inspired me to read and write. She had shared a good book list. On March 9th, 2021, when the book, Amina’s Song, got released, I was so excited. I got my copy of the book from Amazon on March 13th and could not stop reading it. I read the whole book within two days. After reading this book, I realized that Amina had changed from a shy girl to someone who had the courage to speak for herself. For those who have not read Amina’s Voice, I will share with you some information about the characters. Amina is a 12-year-old Pakistani-American girl who lives in Wisconsin with her family. It includes her brother and parents, while the rest of her family including her Thaya Jaan (dad’s brother), lives in Pakistan.
The book starts with Amina’s vacation in Pakistan where she is enjoying time with her family, especially her 16-year-old cousin and her uncle (Thaya Jaan). Amina was not close with her uncle before this trip. When Amina comes back to Milwaukee, nobody at school wants to hear about her trip to Pakistan. With her Thaya Jaan getting sick, Amina is very worried. When a history project requires writing about a famous person, Amina chooses Pakistani hero Malala, who fought for girls’ education and was shot by the Taliban. As her classmates hear her story, they just talk about how girls were mistreated in Pakistan instead of the proud story of a Pakistani girl. You may be wondering, “Why is the book called Amina’s Song?” Well, what do you think? Will Amina be able to share the beauty of Pakistan and her rich heritage with her friends? Read this book to find out.
There are many reasons to like this book.
The first thing that I liked about this book was the easy language which made the chapters fun to read and understand. Secondly, what I liked was the description of the reality of a middle school girl. I could identify myself with the character of Amina. Thirdly, it has important themes of friendship, culture, discovering your roots, and coming together as a family. Amina grew close to her family during her visit to Pakistan, especially her uncle. In the first book, she didn’t really like him as he had strict rules like no Halloween, no singing, and things that Thaya Jaan thought were considered bad in Islam. Lastly, her relationship with her uncle and cousin reminded me of my paternal uncle and cousin in Nepal.
I was touched by the sweet ending of the story when Amina discovers her true roots and becomes closer with her relatives. I highly recommend this book for ages 9 and up, and I would rate this book with 5 stars. If you want to read this book, I suggest you should read Amina’s Voice first so you would have a better understanding.
I want to end my blog with a few lines from a powerful speech given by Malala that Amina recites at a school program. These words really inspired me. Amina also highlighted the achievements of some other Pakistani women like Benazir Bhutto, the first prime minister of Pakistan, and the first female mountaineer Samina Baig.
“You’ve got through this before. You can do this, too. I am Malala Yousafzai.. I’m a fearless fighter for girls education, who overcame a horrific attempt to silence me.”
PS: I am glad this book got released during this month of March because it is Women’s History Month.