Amina Khokar

Amina is the protagonist of the novel. She is an 11-year-old girl who lives in Milwaukee. Her parents are Pakistani, and she attends Greendale Middle School with her best friend, Soojin. Amina has always had an incredible voice, but a traumatic experience during a performance in second grade rendered her unable to sing in public again. Only Soojin and Amina’s cousin, Rabiya, know of Amina’s talents, but their encouragement is not enough to convince Amina to let herself be heard.

Amina’s character has a variety of roles in this novel. For example, her complex background explores the theme of cultural integration. The school that Amina attends, along with the people she often associates with in her community, have many aspects of Western culture. Given that Amina lives in Milwaukee, she has been exposed to, and is involved in, typical American customs, so she is...