Amina struggles when her best friend, Soojin, who is Korean, is going to be naturalized and wants to change her name. To what, Soojin hasn't decided yet, but then to make matters worse, she asks hated-bully Emily for advice on what new name she should take.
Amina can't look past years of being made fun of by Emily and her friends at school and she really doesn't like the idea of Soojin changing her name. But Emily appears to be on the "outs" with the "in" crowd and is soon sitting with the girls at lunch and going over to Soojin's house.
Add to that the stress of an older, slightly smarmy brother who's begun talking back to her Pakistani parents and a visit from a respected uncle, during which she's expected to be "perfect" and not remark on his disapproval of her singing, and it's a cauldron of middle school angst.
When their mosque is vandalized, will it further separate the family from their new American community, or will it bring them closer -- with help from a most unlikely source?
This was a great read, and definitely will be a gem under the tree!
