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Published: September 9, 2019 Book Lists, Young Adult · Written By: Afoma Umesi

15 Best Muslim YA Books

Muslim YA books are thankfully becoming more popular. My definition of Muslim YA (as someone is not Muslim) is young adult books by Muslims about Muslim teens and their realities.

The reason why I enjoy these books is that in a world where many are sadly discriminated against for their faith, Muslim YA books create a window into the lives of these teens. In most of the books I’ve listed below, the main characters are practicing Muslims, some even donning the hijab.

Some of these books show the challenges teens face as a result of culture. Others show the struggles resulting from Islamophobia. But many of them just show teens living their lives in the 21st century.

If you have young adults (or adults) looking for books about Muslim teens, I hope you find this post useful! Obviously, it’s not an exhaustive list. I tried not to include too many books from one author, so feel free to browse each author’s entire portfolio for something that appeals to you.


15 of the Best Muslim YA Books

best muslim ya books

Disclaimer: I use affiliate links for both Indiebound and Amazon so I will make a few extra cents at no cost to you if you buy through my links. It would be a great way to support the blog.

Saints and Misfits

Saints and Misfits
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Published: June 13, 2017

There are three kinds of people in my world:

  1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They’re in your face so much, you can’t see them, like how you can’t see your nose.
  2. Misfits, people who don’t belong. Like me—the way I don’t fit into Dad’s brand-new family or in the leftover one composed of Mom and my older brother, Mama’s-Boy-Muhammad.

Also, there’s Jeremy and me. Misfits. Because although, alliteratively speaking, Janna and Jeremy sound good together, we don’t go together. Same planet, different worlds.

But sometimes worlds collide and beautiful things happen, right?

  1. Monsters. Well, monsters wearing saint masks, like in Flannery O’Connor’s stories.

Like the monster at my mosque.

People think he’s holy, untouchable, but nobody has seen under the mask.

Except me.


Does My Head Look Big in This?

Does My Head Look Big in This
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Published: May 1, 2007

When sixteen-year-old Amal decides to wear the hijab full-time, her entire world changes, all because of a piece of cloth…

Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full-time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little different from everyone else.
Can she handle the taunts of “towel head,” the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract the cutest boy in school?


She Wore Red Trainers

She Wore Red Trainers
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Published: June 7, 2014

When Ali first meets Amirah, he notices everything about her—her hijab, her long eyelashes and her red trainers—in the time it takes to have one look, before lowering his gaze. And, although Ali is still coming to terms with the loss of his mother and exploring his identity as a Muslim, and although Amirah has sworn never to get married, they can’t stop thinking about each other. Can Ali and Amirah ever have a halal “happily ever after”?


Love, Hate, and Other Filters

Love, Hate and Other Filters
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Published: January 16, 2018

Seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and pursuing a boy she’s known from afarsince grade school.

But in the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.


Love from A to Z

Love from A to Z
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Published: April 30, 2019

A marvel: something you find amazing. Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom used to make together.

An oddity: whatever gives you pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims are.

But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.

When she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.

Fueled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.

Then her path crosses with Adam’s.

Since he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things. Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.

Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.

Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.

Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…

Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.


A Very Large Expanse of Sea

A Very Large Expanse of Sea
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Published: October 16, 2018

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.

But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.


Internment

Internment
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Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.

With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the camp’s Director and his guards.


Not the Girls You’re Looking for

Not the Girls You're Looking For
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Published: June 19, 2018

Lulu Saad doesn’t need your advice, thank you very much. She’s got her three best friends and nothing can stop her from conquering the known world. Sure, for half a minute she thought she’d nearly drowned a cute guy at a party, but he was totally faking it. And fine, yes, she caused a scene during Ramadan. It’s all under control. Ish.

Except maybe this time she’s done a little more damage than she realizes. And if Lulu can’t find her way out of this mess soon, she’ll have to do more than repair friendships, family alliances, and wet clothing. She’ll have to go looking for herself.


Written in the Stars

Written in the Stars
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Published: March 24, 2015

Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. And until then, dating—even friendship with a boy—is forbidden.

When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now! Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew. Her only hope of escape is Saif . . . if he can find her before it’s too late.


The Lines We Cross

The Lines We Cross
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Published: May 9, 2017

Michael likes to hang out with his friends and play with the latest graphic design software. His parents drag him to rallies held by their anti-immigrant group, which rails against the tide of refugees flooding the country. And it all makes sense to Michael.

Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school, and turns out to be funny, smart — and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly, his parents’ politics seem much more complicated.

Mina has had a long and dangerous journey fleeing her besieged home in Afghanistan, and now faces a frigid reception at her new prep school, where she is on scholarship. As tensions rise, lines are drawn. Michael has to decide where he stands. Mina has to protect herself and her family. Both have to choose what they want their world to look like.


That Thing We Call a Heart

That Thing We Call a Heart
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Published: May 9, 2017

Shabnam Qureshi is facing a summer of loneliness and boredom until she meets Jamie, who scores her a job at his aunt’s pie shack. Shabnam quickly finds herself in love, while her former best friend, Farah, who Shabnam has begun to reconnect with, finds Jamie worrying.

In her quest to figure out who she really is and what she really wants, Shabnam looks for help in an unexpected place—her family, and her father’s beloved Urdu poetry.

That Thing We Call a Heart is a funny and fresh story about the importance of love—in all its forms.


Ayesha Dean – The Istanbul Intrigue

Ayesha Dean- The Istanbul Intrigue
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Published: January 13, 2021

Ayesha and her friends Sara and Jess jump at the chance of accompanying Ayesha’s uncle on a trip from Australia to Istanbul. But when Ayesha discovers a mysterious note as a result of visiting an old bookshop, their relaxing holiday starts to get a whole lot more complicated.

Ayesha finds herself trying to uncover a hundred-year-old Ibn Arabi mystery, while trying to avoid creepy villains, and still making sure that she gets to eat the best doner kebab Istanbul has to offer. It’s all in a day’s sleuthing when you’re Ayesha Dean. Lucky she can count on her best friends to always have her back!


All-American Muslim Girl

All-American Muslim Girl
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Published: November 12, 2019

Allie Abraham has it all going for her–she’s a straight-A student, with good friends and a close-knit family, and she’s dating cute, popular, and sweet Wells Henderson. One problem: Wells’s father is Jack Henderson, America’s most famous conservative shock jock…and Allie hasn’t told Wells that her family is Muslim.

It’s not like Allie’s religion is a secret, exactly. It’s just that her parents don’t practice and raised her to keep her Islamic heritage to herself. But as Allie witnesses ever-growing Islamophobia in her small town and across the nation, she begins to embrace her faith — studying it, practicing it, and facing hatred and misunderstanding for it.

Who is Allie, if she sheds the façade of the “perfect” all-American girl? What does it mean to be a “Good Muslim?”And can a Muslim girl in America ever truly fit in? ALL-AMERICAN MUSLIM GIRL is a relevant, relatable story of being caught between two worlds, and the struggles and hard-won joys of finding your place.


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Ten Things I Hate About Me

Ten Things I Hate About Me
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Published: January 1, 2009

“At school I’m Aussie-blonde Jamie — one of the crowd. At home I’m Muslim Jamilah — driven mad by my Stone Age dad. I should win an Oscar for my acting skills. But I can’t keep it up for much longer…”

Jamie just wants to fit in. She doesn’t want to be seen as a stereotypical Muslim girl, so she does everything possible to hide that part of herself. Even if it means pushing her friends away because she’s afraid to let them know her dad forbids her from hanging out with boys or that she secretly loves to play the darabuka (Arabic drums).


Zara Hossain Is Here

Zara Hossain Is Here
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Published: April 6, 2021

Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low, trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family’s dependent visa status while they await their green card approval, which has been in process for almost nine years.

But one day her tormentor, star football player Tyler Benson, takes things too far, leaving a threatening note in her locker, and gets suspended. As an act of revenge against her for speaking out, Tyler and his friends vandalize Zara’s house with racist graffiti, leading to a violent crime that puts Zara’s entire future at risk. Now she must pay the ultimate price and choose between fighting to stay in the only place she’s ever called home or losing the life she loves and everyone in it.


There they are: 15 of the best Muslim YA books to get your hands on! I hope you find one that meets your needs.

Over to you: Have you read and enjoyed any of these Muslim YA books? Got any extra recommendations? I’ve also loved reading a few middle-grade books with Muslim protagonists, particularly, Hena Khan‘s books.

More YA Book Lists

  • Asian YA books
  • Black YA books
  • YA books about food

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Posted In: Book Lists, Young Adult · Tagged: hijab, muslim, muslim ya

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About Afoma Umesi

Afoma Umesi is the founder and editor of Reading Middle Grade where she curates book lists and writes book reviews for kids of all ages. Her favorite genre to read is contemporary realistic fiction and she'll never say no to graphic novel.

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Comments

  1. Jane Rosebery says

    September 9, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    Oh, this list is phenomenal. All-American Muslim Girl sounds good to me. I’ve read that author before so I’ll probably try this one too. I hope a school teacher comes across your list so she/he can make the recommendations to the school library!

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      September 10, 2019 at 8:55 am

      Thank you, Jane! I hope they do too! I’m also really looking forward to ALL-AMERICAN MUSLIM GIRL even though I’ve never read the author before.

      Reply
  2. pamwithers says

    November 21, 2020 at 2:58 pm

    To update, two newer YA novels are Yara’s Spring by Jamal Saaeed & Sharon E McKay, Sadia by Colleen Nelson, and The Parkour Club by Arooj Hayat and Pam Withers.

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      November 23, 2020 at 3:55 am

      Hi Pam, thanks for sharing! I’ll look these up 🙂

      Reply
  3. bookswithn says

    December 3, 2020 at 12:32 am

    A Very Large Expanse of Sea was such a disappointment and I do not recommend it. It didn’t have any good Muslim representation. However, Love From A to Z is one of my favorites. I’ll definitely check out the others!

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      December 7, 2020 at 4:43 am

      Hi! Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. I liked Love from A-Z as well. Hope you enjoy your other selections 🙂

      Reply
  4. Andrew says

    December 28, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    “A Thousand Questions” by Saadia Faruqi was excellent if you need a middle grade next reading idea! Highly recommend. Sabina Khan is fantastic, really enjoyed “The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali” by Khan, just ordered “Zara Hossain is Here”. Thank you so much for making this list, I’ve used it as a resource in developing a “Muslim Experiences” booklist for the library I work for. Thank you again!

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      December 31, 2020 at 4:35 am

      Hi Andrew! I loved A THOUSAND QUESTIONS and even interviewed Faruuqi on the blog. I’ll have to read more Sabina Khan then 🙂 Thanks for the recs.

      Reply

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📚 booksmarts don’t define you ❤️ This bo 📚 booksmarts don’t define you ❤️

This book by @brigityoungbooks was one of my favorites last year. There aren’t many middle grade books I wish a younger me would’ve had. But this is one of them. 

Marianne Blume has convinced herself that she’s not smart. She’s gotten through school so far by charming teachers out of questioning her. But her eighth-grade teacher, Mr. Garcia, isn’t easily fooled. To pull up her grades for high school, Marianne tries to win his favor by joining the school’s trivia team (which he coaches). 

But as the term progresses, Marianne bonds with the trivia kids and learns that there’s more to being smart than book smart — but also, she’s more intelligent than she gives herself credit for.

This is a deeply insightful book about labels, persistence, and self-belief, featuring themes like sisterhood, female friendships, and family. This one will be extra meaningful to the kids (like me) who are so afraid of failure that they stop trying. 

It also teaches a valuable lesson that learning isn’t effortless — for anyone. More importantly, it’s a poignant reminder that book smarts aren’t the only valuable skill. People skills are incredibly powerful, especially for leading others. 

I hope I’ve convinced you to pick this one up. I loved the voice in this story—it will speak to kids in grades 6+. Have you read this book?

#booksforkids #middlegradebooks #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram
🎤 new chapter book series alert 🚨 Frankie 🎤 new chapter book series alert 🚨 

Frankie and Friends: Breaking News is the first in the new Frankie and Friends series. Frankie's mom is off on a reporting trip, and the whole family is missing her. 

With her stuffed animals as partners, Frankie decides to use the journalism tidbits she's learned from her mom -- like finding your beat and being honest -- to solve a surprising family mystery.

This is a charming, educational, and imaginative start to a fun series that's perfect for new readers. With a good mix of journalistic terminology, sister relationships, and depictions of imaginative play, supported by gorgeous full-color illustrations, kids will love Frankie and her determined efforts to break the news.

#chapterbook #booksforkids #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram
🕵️‍♀️ a new mystery for spelling bee fa 🕵️‍♀️ a new mystery for spelling bee fans

If you’ve been looking for more high-stakes mysteries for tweens, let me introduce you to THE WINTERTON DECEPTION! Meet 13-year-old twins Hope and Gordon. They’ve just found out that their dad was Brandon Winterton (of the wealthy dictionary magnate family). Unfortunately, Hope can’t stand rich people, especially since the twins and their mom are barely making ends meet and living in a motel. But their fortune is about to change.

When Gordon enters the family into the Winterton Bee, they’re thrust into into the midst of family’s secrets, with a deadly enemy, and a scavenger hunt set up by the family’s dead matriarch. 

This is a fast-paced mystery with plenty to gnaw on between the twin relationship, family drama, character development, and flashbacks that help readers learn more about the Winterton family.

So happy that more and more mysteries are coming out for readers in the 6th-8th grades. This one does touch a bit on addiction and there’s a scene where the kids’ lives are in danger but all ends well!

It’s out at the end of October! 🤩

#mysteriesforkids #middlegradebooks #bookstagram
👯‍♀️ TWINS in middle grade literature 💕 

I love seeing more twins in middle grade books. For a long time, the only twins I knew in middle grade lit were the Sweet Valley High girlies. Then, I got a glimpse of twin life with Issa and Jessie in @karinaisreadingandwriting’s THE VANDERBEEKERS. 

Since then, we’ve seen more depictions of twins, including Varian Johnson’s TWINS (a graphic novel about twin sisters Francine and Maureen entering 6th grade), MIRROR TO MIRROR by Rajani LaRocca, and Hope and Gordon in THE WINTERTON DECEPTION (review to come)!

And of course, these two books, TWIN CITIES and SAVING SUNSHINE (which I just started and am loving)! While these stories will appeal to twins, I think everyone who’s ever been curious about twins will love getting a glimpse into what life feels like as one half of a whole. 

Which middle grade twin stories have you read and loved? 😍 

#middlegrade #twinbooks #mglit #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks
📰 a beautiful graphic novel about speaking the 📰 a beautiful graphic novel about speaking the truth 

This stunning graphic novel follows Cinzia, Avvisi writer’s apprentice living in sunny Sianerra. Cinzia and her mestra write news stories/pamphlets to the city, but not everyone likes when they tell the truth. 

After an edition exposing the ruling family for extortion, cinzia and her mestra are arrested at night and she has to join forces with the princess to fight back against censorship. 

Besides the wonderfully imaginative and powerful storyline, loved the visuals and the diversity representation in this graphic novel. The main character has a bad leg and gets around with a walking stick, which is something rarely depicted in graphic novels (and it’s barely even discussed—it just is!).

Although, this book is closer to fantasy (but without magical elements), it’s set in a Renaissance-style Italian village, so it could work for lovers of realistic fiction too.

Look out for it in November! Have you read this graphic novel? Thoughts? Is it on your radar already?

#graphicnovels #mglit #booksforkids
🩰throwback Thursday - meet one of my favorites 🩰throwback Thursday - meet one of my favorites

Looking for an upper middle grade book about ballet, friendships, and body image? Meet TURNING POINT. 

This book focuses on Monique (Mo) and Rasheeda (Sheeda)’s friendship and how it changes over a summer when both girls are drawn into different pursuits. Mo is off at a ballet intensive with Mila, while Sheeda is stuck at church (with her church “friends”) feeling like she has no life.

At the ballet intensive, Mo comes face to face with her competitive attitude which is fueled by feelings of not “fitting in” with the mostly white, skinny ballet dancers. Even though she makes a couple of friends (who basically lovingly force her to befriend them), she’s insecure at times, afraid to be vulnerable because everything feels so different. On the other hand, Sheeda is desperate for something new. Unfortunately, she falls into a risky situation with Mo’s brother whom she happens to have a crush on.

Paula Chase is one of my favorite writers for this audience and this may be my favorite of hers so far. It’s in the same universe as two of her previous books, DOUGH BOYS and SO DONE but you don’t need to read them in order. 

I’d say her books are great for kids ages 12+
Have you read any books by this author? Which ones are your favorites?

#booksbooksbooks #mglit #bookstagram
🇲🇽Twins on opposite sides I’d seen this b 🇲🇽Twins on opposite sides

I’d seen this book floating around for ages but was never drawn to it (the cover maybe?) until I saw a review somewhere I can’t remember 🤪 I was pleasantly surprised!

Twins Luisa and Fernando find their paths diverging as they’re entering sixth grade. Luisa will be attending middle school in the US just across the border from Fernando’s school in Mexico. There, they come to face to face with different, but equally pressing challenges that threaten to tear them apart.

I really enjoyed this book. The side by side depictions of both kids parallel lives, the way the illustrations celebrate Mexican culture, living, and traditions, and the heartwarming way the twins find their way back to each other. 

I’d recommend this one to 6th graders and up (heads up for content warning: text mentions and depicts illicit drug use by a minor, although portrayed in a negative light) as a fascinating look into Mexican culture, life as a twin, and finding your own identity.

#kidlit #graphicnovels #mglit #booksforkids
♠️ on spades and what it means to be a man An ♠️ on spades and what it means to be a man

Ant isn’t your average 10 year old. He loves a good game of spades and he and his best friend are planning to revamp their reputation after losing badly at the last spades tournament. But things are changing in Ant’s life. His dad is acting weird, asking him to hide things from his mom. There’s a new girl in class who Ant maybe likes and who plays spades better than many boys he knows. 

When his best friend is grounded, Ant teams up with Shirley, hoping to impress his father and finally be tough like Joplin men should be. But instead, he learns what it really means to be a man—and it’s not about never crying.

There’s SO MUCH going on in this story, but the author does a stunning job of keeping all the threads in place. I was very surprised by all the protagonist has to manage at his age and the fact that it all remains believable. The story is told by Ant’s ancestor, lending a touch of magic realism. There are also many details about playing a game of spades and I loved, loved the audiobook narrator.

If you’re looking for a meatier middle grade book perfect for kids ages 9-12 (and older, really—love the cover!) looking for books that balance levity and relatability with real issues like toxic masculinity, parental addiction, friendship issues, and crushes.

#mglit #middlegrade #middlegradebookies #kidlit #booksforkids
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