• A 2016 USBBY Outstanding International Book

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“This touching story brings home vividly the dangers of creating art that seeks to be true–and all the more so during a vicious civil war. Thankfully, Amina’s teenage curiosity and courage also signal hope.”

—Beverley Naidoo, author of Carnegie Medal winner The Other Side of Truth

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This book is rich with realistic, complex details about Islam, agency, urban

life, and friendship. Amina’s story is at once culturally specific, unique and universal, so that readers from all walks of like will find moments of connection. Politically relevant, this timely story offers many opportunities for classroom discussion.

—Booklist

 

Amina Khalid is a sweet, amiable teenager—and a solid counterexample to Islamophobia and negative notions about Somalis.

—Kirkus Reviews

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“Amina is a solid book about a challenging topic and place. It deserves to be widely read and comes recommended.”

—Africa Access Review

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After surviving years of civil war in Somalia, Amina’s family is torn apart–her father arrested and her brother abducted. Suddenly, Amina feels vulnerable: food is scarce, her mother is pregnant and her grandmother ailing. She begins creating street art secretly. WIll her work inspire others to strive for a better future for Mogadishu–or will it destroy what’s left of her family?

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