The last few days, I read A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi. In this realistic fiction novel, eleven-year-old Mimi goes on a vacation to Karachi, Pakistan to visit her grandparents when her mom gets a new job as an art teacher at a private school. Although she wishes she was in Italy instead, like her best friend Zoe, she begins writing to the journalist father that left her and her mom when she was five in the journal her mom gave her before the trip. While staying at her grandparents' house, Mimi meets the cook's daughter, Sakina. Despite the fact that she hasn't told her parents and doesn't know how her family will afford losing the money she earns them, Sakina dreams of going to school and asks Mimi to teach her English so that she can pass the English portion of her admission test to get into New Haven School. When Mimi's grandfather reveals that her father has been in Karachi for the past year, Sakina agrees to help Mimi find him by bringing her newspapers in English. While helping each other get what they want most, Mimi and Sakina discover they have more in common than they first thought and form a friendship, but the secrets they're keeping weigh heavily on them.
A Thousand Questions was such a wholesome and heartwarming novel. Although there were several tense moments because Mimi's mom had no desire to see her ex-husband, Sakina's dad had diabetes, and Pakistan's election was coming up, the two girls' friendship was lovely. I really enjoyed the kindness that they showed each other and especially loved when they went sightseeing in Karachi because it showed the best parts of the city and allowed the two girls to take a break from their worries. At different parts of the story, Mimi was shown to be jealous of Sakina and vice versa, but by the end, they both came to appreciate what they have and I thought that was nice. Additionally, I could understand why Mimi wanted to see her father again so badly even though her mom had moved on. It was heartbreaking when she believed her father left because of her and I didn't blame her for needing to hear the truth from him about why he left. I also felt bad that Sakina might not be able to go to school because her family needed her to work to earn money. Even though I was sad when Mimi had to go back home to Houston, it was satisfying to read that the girls' big dreams would come true. Anyone should read this beautifully wonderful story of empathy, friendship, and family.
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