The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan
Written by Salma Hussain
Published by Tundra
Mona Hasan is a young Muslim girl growing up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when the first Gulf War breaks out in 1991. The war isn’t what she expects — “We didn’t even get any days off school! Just my luck” — especially when the ground offensive is over so quickly and her family peels the masking tape off their windows. Her parents, however, fear there is no peace in the region, and it sparks a major change in their lives.
Over the course of one year, Mona falls in love, speaks up to protect her younger sister, loses her best friend to the new girl at school, has summer adventures with her cousins in Pakistan, immigrates to Canada, and pursues her ambition to be a feminist and a poet.
Primary ISBN: 9780735271494
Publication Date: May 2022
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Middle Grade, Age 10 or older
Community Represented: Emirati/Emirati American, Pakistani/Pakistani American
Themes: Accolades & Awards, Arts, Canadian Connection, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Identity, Discrimination: Gender and Sexual, Discrimination: Racial, Family Relationship: Parents, Format: Audiobook, Genre: Humor, Identity: Multilingual, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Refugee: War/Conflict, Religious Background: Muslim
Setting: United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Canada, Pakistan
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Immigrant
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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