HUDA F WANTS TO KNOW?

Huda has her junior year all planned out—and then her parents’ news shatters her world.

Egyptian American Huda and best friend Nabz have packed schedules to help propel them into college (Huda is only slightly distracted by a crush). While attending the masjid’s weekly halaqa for teen girls, she meets guest speaker Dr. Haifa, Nabz’s therapist, who discusses mental health, an issue that goes unaddressed in Huda’s family. After her parents announce their divorce, a distraught Huda is sent into a downward spiral, ultimately lashing out at her family and Nabz before recognizing that she needs help navigating feelings of pain, guilt, anger, grief, and fear of change. Fahmy’s newest addition to her series about Huda addresses healing generational trauma through the power of acknowledging and validating feelings; Huda’s mother clearly perceives her five daughters’ different coping mechanisms. With nuance, context, and cultural and religious texture, Fahmy calls out toxic religious positivity and the stigmas surrounding both divorce and addressing mental health in Muslim communities and families. The backmatter includes an author’s note highlighting her own experiences facing mental health challenges as a Muslim teen of color and child of immigrants whose issues of identity and experiences of racism compounded to affect her overall well-being. The book lists mental health resources, including general ones and those specifically supporting Muslims and people of color. Fahmy’s trademark lively cartoon-style art and humorous asides add lightness to the serious topics she discusses.

An uplifting, insightful model for positive change.