Published: 2021
Series: Huda
Author: Huda Fahmy
Illustrator: Huda Fahmy
Genres: Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Humor, Comics, Fiction, Contemporary, Middle Grade, Religion, Teen, Coming Of Age
Audience (Grade Levels): Grades 6-12
Number of Stars: 5-Stars
Goodreads Link: Huda F Are You?
Triggers: Adolescent insecurity, changing peer groups, mild identity crises
Review By: Mary Klucznik
Publisher’s Summary
From the creator of Yes, I’m Hot In This, this cheeky, hilarious, and honest graphic novel asks the question everyone has to figure out for themselves: Who are you?
Huda and her family just moved to Dearborn, Michigan, a small town with a big Muslim population. In her old town, Huda knew exactly who she was: She was the hijabi girl. But in Dearborn, everyone is the hijabi girl.
Huda is lost in a sea of hijabis, and she can’t rely on her hijab to define her anymore. She has to define herself. So she tries on a bunch of cliques, but she isn’t a hijabi fashionista or a hijabi athlete or a hijabi gamer. She’s not the one who knows everything about her religion or the one all the guys like. She’s miscellaneous, which makes her feel like no one at all. Until she realizes that it’ll take finding out who she isn’t to figure out who she is.
Review
This book had me at the title. Who couldn’t resist a title like this?! Come on, seriously. Maybe it’s because I work with teenagers and sometimes I have to ask students, “Is what you’re about to tell me something that I can repeat to my grandmother”? But they love to say the “f” word and if they aren’t saying it then they are saying: “f-bomb” instead!
So, she had me at the title. Another reason I picked up this book is because I’ve only recently discovered that many graphic novels are now available as ebooks. This has made all the difference in the world to me as a reader. I’ve often felt overwhelmed by graphic novels, there is just too much going on and I feel like I’m missing something. However with an ebook, I can truly pour over the page, move around, zoom in and out to my heart’s content. I love them!
Huda suffers through all the pangs and arrows that every other teenage endures squabbling sisters little meatballs on her face (think SNL), grades, parents, college. What doesn’t a teenager have to endure?!?
It reminded me so much of myself, always trying to fit in. I definitely went with the crowd and did whatever anyones else suggested. I tried Girl Scouts (but only made it as far as Brownies), 4-H (my uncle gave me tomatoes for the state fair), piano, drums (okay I actually played the cymbals), career (yup that too). This book has real appeal to me beyond the title and because of that I could recommend it to any student that walked into our library. It’s not about religion but rather who you are and who you want to be.
Beyond that, her artwork is simple, clean, and understated. The reader will keep going back to her illustrations and find humor, joy and grace. Reading graphic novels as ebooks has given me a whole new appreciation for the genre from a literature and artistic perspective. It allows and encourages the reader to visit the pictures and spend time with them.
I did a little research about Huda. She is a 2006 graduate from the University of Michigan and started her career in teaching. So how did she end up as an illustrator? Her alumni center did an interview and here’s her response to the Five Lessons She’s Learned:
Don’t always do what you’re good at. 👏 (I added the emoji)
Never let anybody find out you’re really good at something that bores you. For me, that was teaching: It came really naturally, but I just wasn’t into it. On the other hand, when I decided to start writing comics, the thing I had to overcome right away is that I didn’t draw. Really. But I’m working really hard at it. And I realized what was going to sell this — if people liked it all — was the story. And that’s turned out to be totally true.
Classroom & Curricular Connections
- SEL (Social-Emotional Learning): This book offers an incredibly strong connection to adolescent identity development, self-exploration, and the universal desire to find out where one fits in beyond superficial markers.
- Art / Visual Literacy: The simple, clean, and understated art style provides a great tool for analyzing how comic structures, subtle visual gags, and minimalist layouts can evoke deep emotional resonance, humor, and grace.
- ELA / Memoir and Voice: Excellent for exploring coming-of-age narratives, personal voice, and autobiographical writing where a protagonist must navigate peer expectations, family dynamics, and self-definition.
Diversity & Representation
Huda F Are You? moves beyond standard, monolithic representations of religious minorities by presenting a diverse, multi-faceted look inside a large Muslim community. Instead of treating the hijab or Muslim background as the entire conflict, the book normalizes the everyday adolescent experience, highlighting that Muslim youth face the same universal struggles with fitting in, family squabbles, and self-discovery as anyone else.
Readalikes
- Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
- Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
- New Kid by Jerry Craft
