I Am Thunder

by Muhammad Khan

Overview

A shy girl trying to find her place in the world is forced to stand up and be heard when she uncovers a dangerous secret
 
Fifteen-year-old Muzna Saleem is used to being invisible. So no one is more surprised than her when Arif Malik, the hottest boy in school, takes a sudden interest. But Arif is hiding a terrible secret and, as they begin to follow a dark path, Muzna faces an impossible choice: keep quiet and betray her beliefs, or speak out and betray her heart. Muhammad Khan's stunning, multi-award winning novel gets right to the center of what it means to be an urban teenager today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509874057
Publisher:	Pan Macmillan
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	1,010,649
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Muhammad Khan is an engineer and a secondary-school math teacher. He has an MA in Creative Writing from St Mary's. His debut novel I Am Thunder won the Branford Boase First Novel Award, the 2018 Great Reads Award and a number of regional awards. He is also the author of Kick the Moon.

Editorial Reviews

07/27/2020

Khan’s debut, inspired by the well-publicized radicalization of three British schoolgirls who flew to Syria to join the “self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’ ” in 2015, traces the coming-of-age of British-born Pakistani Muzna Saleem, 15. Muzna’s strict parents, cultural Muslims who immigrated from Pakistan, severely limit her personal choices: her mother’s dictate against waxing a growth of facial hair leads to bullying at school, and Muzna’s desire to study English challenges her father’s expectation of a medical career. When he loses his job under unfair circumstances and the family is forced to move, Muzna transfers to a different school, where she meets a handsome, charming new classmate: Pakistani born-again Muslim Arif Malik. Along with his charismatic older brother Jameel, he slowly influences her toward his radical interpretation of Islam, including taking her to hear fundamentalist preachers. Though understandable, Muzna’s naivety and willingness to go along with his ill-planned decisions are occasionally frustrating. Nonetheless, a gripping story line, supported by a nuanced exploration of Muzna’s family dynamics and immigrant experience, draws a clear distinction drawn between culture and religion (frequently conflated) and focuses on personal meanings of devotion, providing valuable touches. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"An uplifting, empowering novel with hope at its heart." —Observer Children's Book of the Week


"Funny and clever—a perspective long overdue in British fiction." —Alex Wheatle, author of Crongton Knights


"This one is special . . . punches well above the weight of most debuts." —Times


"This assured, hopeful debut feels unprecedented and essential." —Guardian


"One of the most distinctive narrators I've read in ages." —Bookseller


"Trailblazing." —BookRiot


"Fans of Skins and The Hate U Give will feel right at home here." —BuzzFeed  


"This is a poignant coming of age story about a young girl trying to work out where she fits in the world, and who she can trust." —Scotsman

From the Publisher

2020-07-14
Muzna Saleem is a North London teen who struggles with low self-esteem.

The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she considers herself ugly and is taunted by peers. Muzna dreams of being a novelist, but she feels obliged to fulfill her money-strapped parents’ desire for her to become a doctor. When Muzna’s best friend is caught with a boyfriend, her parents force her to sever their ties to avoid shame by association. After her family moves for a new job, a friendless Muzna looks to reinvent herself, taking hormone pills to regulate her facial hair. She is instantly attracted to Arif, a hunky, brooding fellow Muslim student who is surprisingly kind to her. This leads to a romance with a twist: Arif’s older brother appears to be sympathetic to violent extremism. Muzna is portrayed as a naïve victim of her own self-loathing and insecurities who is lured into a dangerous situation. Despite Muzna’s first-person narration, readers might struggle to understand her internal thought processes or believe the degree of her awareness of others’ attempts to influence her thoughts and actions. Secondary characters represent the diversity of the British Muslim population, such as a Nigerian British classmate, a service-oriented hijabi medical student, and Muzna’s own traditional yet anti-hijab parents, but they are insufficiently fleshed out given the delicacy and ambition of the central premise, and a theatrical ending does not redeem the overall lack of nuance.

Fails to do justice to the complexity of the subject matter. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews