Five Coming of Age Stories Told by Muslim Female Writers

It’s World Book Day today! And for all you SuperSister book lovers 💖we’ve compiled a list of awesome Muslim female authors that you need to put on your ‘to reads’ ASAP! 📚📚📚

Muslim women come in all colours, cultures and communities, so this list is as diverse as the women behind their makings. At SuperSisters we think it’s important to provide a space for Muslim womens’ voices to be heard. These women are super talented and we believe their creativity should be part of the mainstream narrative. Girls, we’re not just the story, but the story-tellers too! Enjoy!

1. Bright Lines by Tanwi Nandini Islam

This story about a young Bangladeshi girl Ella, a young orphan who lives in Brooklyn. She’s never felt fully comfortable about her identity as she struggles to fit in, as well as deal with the aftermath of her grief. Also a great book to fly you straight to the heart one of New York’s most interesting boroughs!

2. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

This beautiful tale told in cartoon form is the story of Marjane Satrapi’s childhood in Tehran, during the Islamic Revolution. During a time of great political upheaval, this is the story of a young girl caught in the crossfire of two vastly different cultural ideologies. It’s been made into a film, so check that out if you haven’t already!

3. Girls of Riyah by Rajaa Alsanea

This is a coming of age story of four upper-class women living in Saudi Arabia as they search for love under the veil of strict rules and customs. It’s told through emails and shows how technology is slowly transforming the lives of Saudi women to a more modern and progressive one.

4. Madras on Rainy Days by Samina Ali

This beautiful novel is about Layla, an Indian-American Muslim woman who has agreed to return to India for an arranged marriage. But she is unsure whether this is truly what she wants to do, or if she’s doing this to keep her family happy. All Layla wants is to feel like she belongs. What will she do?

5. That Thing We Call A Heart by Sheba Karim

When Shabnam Qureshi’s best friend Farah starts wearing a headscarf without telling her first, this Pakistani-American teen’s friendship begins to crumble. She’s ready for high-school to end but that summer she meets Jamie and everything changes. She finds herself falling in love but Farah doesn’t trust him. This is a tale about the power of a lasting friendship, weaving the history of the Partition of India in 1947.