Huda F Are You? is about identity, it’s about family, and it’s about loving yourself. It’s quite funny while also adept at pointedly calling out discrimination against Muslim Americans. An essential addition to 8th-12th grade classroom libraries.

Title: Huda F Are You?

Author: Huda Fahmy

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel

Age Range: 12+ (best for 13-15 year olds)

Summary: Huda F.’s family has just moved to Dearborn, Michigan in order to be part of a larger community of Muslim Americans. Huda’s glad for the opportunity to embrace her Muslim identity, but is perplexed about what to do when she’s no longer the only student wearing a hijabi—her hijabi can’t be the totality of her personality any more. We see her navigate 9th grade, trying on and discarding new personalities as she slowly discovers what makes Huda, Huda.

“Huda F Are You?” is similar to:

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha (graphic novel memoir showing a teenage girl learning how to synthesize and love diverse elements of her identity)

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (graphic novel memoir showing a Muslim teenage girl learning the complexities of wearing a head covering in a society filled with unsolicited opinions about such a visible symbol of religion and culture)

How to teach it:

independent reading

Huda F Are You will be a popular choice for independent reading. Start by book talking it: take less than a minute of your class period and show students this video of the author talking about the book. Then, share it during First Chapter Friday, using your doc cam or whatever more advanced technology you have to show the illustrations. Follow it up with a 30-second spiel about how this is a book for students who…

• have lots of sisters
• have ever had to advocate for themselves in the face of discrimination
• have disappointed their parents
• wonder if “being a good student” is all they’ll ever be
• face pressure from immigrant parents to excel

book clubs

I would love to see this as a ninth grade Book Club examining the essential question:

How much control do teenagers have over their own identity?

I’d make it the second unit of the year (with the first being a short writing unit focused on personal narratives). Once you have gotten to know students a little bit, showed them your high expectations, and started to build a supportive community, students will be ready for Book Clubs.

The essential question lends itself well to personal reflection. How much control do students have over their own identity? If not them, then who has control over it? Family? Friends? Society? They can compare their own experiences to Huda’s — or the other main characters featured in the titles below. They’ll be analyzing characters, theme, plot, and setting, making it aligned to the Common Core State Standards in Literature.

There are many other texts that could be offered as a Book Club options alongside Huda F Are You?, including:

• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (see above)
• Almost American Girl by Robin Ha (see above)
• Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
• Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

If your wheels are turning and you want to create a unit like this, please reach out! I’m happy to help.

Final Two Cents: Adding Huda F Are You? to your shelves will move your library towards representing all students. Bring it in for the representation but don’t forget the empathy-building window it provides to other students.

This post includes affiliate links. Any purchases made through them come at no extra cost to you but they do help keep this newsletter free and accessible.