A Thousand Questions
Written by Saadia Faruqi
Narrated by Gail Shalan and Reena Dutt
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Set against the backdrop of Karachi, Pakistan, Saadia Faruqi’s tender and honest middle grade novel tells the story of two girls navigating a summer of change and family upheaval with kind hearts, big dreams, and all the right questions.
Mimi is not thrilled to be spending her summer in Karachi, Pakistan, with grandparents she’s never met. Secretly, she wishes to find her long-absent father, and plans to write to him in her beautiful new journal.
The cook’s daughter, Sakina, still hasn’t told her parents that she’ll be accepted to school only if she can improve her English test score—but then, how could her family possibly afford to lose the money she earns working with her Abba in a rich family’s kitchen?
Although the girls seem totally incompatible at first, as the summer goes on, Sakina and Mimi realize that they have plenty in common—and that they each need the other to get what they want most.
This relatable and empathetic story about two friends coming to understand each other will resonate with readers who loved Other Words for Home and Front Desk.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Saadia Faruqi
Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American writer, interfaith activist, and cultural-sensitivity trainer. She is the author of the children’s early-reader series Yasmin and the middle grade novels A Thousand Questions, Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero, and The Partition Project and the coauthor of the middle grade novel A Place at the Table as well as The Wonders We Seek: Thirty Incredible Muslims Who Helped Shape the World. She was profiled in O magazine as a woman making a difference in her community and serves as editor in chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry, and prose. She resides in Houston, Texas, with her family.
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A Place at the Table Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Partition Project Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wonders We Seek: Thirty Incredible Muslims Who Helped Shape the World Unabr Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for A Thousand Questions
36 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Really great story about family, friend and life and the cultural
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is so brautiful. I love Mimi and Sakina friendship so much. A Thousand Questions is a bit complicated and contains heavy theme (political issues, different class, poverty) for middle grade, but I love the way Saadia writes it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Retelling: Mimi is transplanted from her home in Houston Texas to her mother's Childhood home in Pakistan over her summer vacation to live with her grandmother Nana. She forms an instant connection to Sakina, a servant in her grandmother's class who is learning English and responds to Mimi's open communication and non-judgmental American Humor. When Mimi learns that her long lost father is reporting in the city they traveled to, she begins a quest to reunite with him, supported by her new friend Sakina. Sakina is on a quest to pass an English Exam so that she can be the first in her family to go to school. Her own father's own ailing health threatens to interfere with her plans. Together they struggle to understand one another through the gulf of culture and language and to help each other through their respective struggles.Thoughts and feelings: One moment that stood out in my mind after reading this book was when Mimi offered Sakina the money she desperately needed to buy the medicine that would save her father's life. Sakina hesitated. I remember reading a psychology study (unfortunately I don't remember where-message me if you know) where the author examined attitudes towards the giving and receiving of gifts in a variety of cultures. What should feel like generosity is sometimes confirmation of the power the wealthy elite have over the poor, and accepting the gift can reify that structure. While Sakina did not read any elitism in Mimi's offer, she did consider how she could ever pay Mimi back. Mimi explained that she and her family had already paid in-kind, serving her family for many years, sacrificing her own time and advancement to keep the household running, and helping her find her father. I asked my 6-year old why the author might have chosen to make Sakina hesitate and he did not know. He said, the choice is obvious-take the money. Save your father.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mimi and her mother journey to Karachi, Pakistan to visit her grandparents for the summer. Mimi is missing her long-gone father and makes friends with Sakina, the daughter of the cook. Sakina wants desperately to go to school and needs a better grade on the English portion of an admissions test, and a friendship is born.
This book does a fabulous job with the two points of view -- Mimi's very American perspective, and Sakina's Pakistani one -- they are able to comment on, be puzzled by and work out the many cultural differences they encounter on their road to friendship, and that is a beautiful journey. As an American reader, there are many hard realities to accept in the book about the education of children and the scale of poverty worldwide -- we have plenty of our own, but it presents a different face here. Both of the girls are great characters and the story is well written and entertaining. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An exceptional middle-grade, realistic and contemporary novel that touches on complicated topics such as absentee fathers, single mothers, multicultural families, and cultural difference. The characters are complex with flaws and strengths. The narration was fantastic, and I plan to seek out more work by these readers. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is both personal and a spoiler. See below if interested.Mimi's dad has been absent from her life since she was 5, and she is now 11. The book gives a happy sort of ending where she connects with her dad, she reaches closure about why he left, and he promises to stay in touch from now on. Nice for lovers of happy endings, but not so great for kids with actual absentee parents. Parents who skip out for 6 years don't come back. Oh I'm sure there's a few heartwarming real-life stories out there, but the reality for most of us is that the parent stays gone. We don't get a conversation with them that reaches closures. They don't come back and stay in touch. They disappear forever and it's up to you and any remaining family to sort through the damage. It's not helpful to kids in this situation to "spare them" by holding out false hope. What's helpful is understanding that some parents abandon their kids forever and that it is absolutely about them and not you. i wish this book had gone that route, because that would have helped a lot of kids to see that represented.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mimi goes on a summer trip with her mom to visit Pakistan and stay with the grandparents she hardly knows. The trip is eye-opening. Her grandparents are rich while she and her mom struggle to get by in America. Sakina's dad is the cook in Mimi's grandparents house and she works there every day too. The book alternates in its telling between the two girls who become friends point of view. Through their eyes we see culture clash, family problems, and a budding friendship. Sakina dreams of school but she needs to pass the English portion of an entrance exam in order for her family to even possibly consider it. With her dad ill, she has the pressure of bringing income into the house. Mimi feels like she has a missing piece by not having a relationship with her dad. In the audiobook, it was interesting that Mimi's voice changed depending if she was the narrator or if Sakina was the narrator related conversations. The girls are full characters and the story compelling.