The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan

By Salma Hussain and Salma Hussain

Book Overview

Mona learns to find her voice over the course of a year that sees her immigrating from Dubai to Canada in this novel for fans of Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Now in paperback!

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0735271518
• ISBN13: 9780735271517
• Release Date: May 2023
• Publisher: Tundra Books (NY)
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Middle Grade

This is a Middle Grade Book. This book is told by a young Muslim girl in the Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I wanted to love this book, and I was really looking forward to reading it. I give up on this book around 20% into this book. I hated all the complaining because if I wanted to give a head full of complaining I would just sit with my 12 year old daughter for an hour and ask her to tell me everything that is wrong. Why do kids complain so much now. I also had real problems with some of the words used in this book. This book is like being in a 12 year olds mind believe me when I say no one wants to be in a 12 year old's mind. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.