Hafsa’s Way
By Aisha Saeed
Reviewed by Zewlan Moor
Hafsa’s Way is the third of a loose trilogy of contemporary realist middle grade novels by Pakistani-American author, Aisha Saeed. The firs two, Amal Unbound and Omar Rising, have been exceptionally well-received, with multiple starred reviews for Amal Unbound, which was also chosen as the Global Read Aloud title in 2018.
Hafsa is a tween girl living in a small village in Pakistan. Her family are comfortable, but she has to work hard to help her father at the market he owns in the village. There is no extra cash for luxuries, so she knows her parents will not support her desire to attend a Science Summer School in the nearby city of Lahore. But she is determined to go, so applies anyway.
Hafsa has a long-held dream of becoming a doctor, so she is very keen to attend the medical school summer camp that she knows her teacher attended and loved. But when she receives the acceptance letter and offer of tuition scholarship, her trials have only just begun. She needs to convince her parents to allow her to go, and to pay for the residency accommodation.
Fortunately, her older sister Shabnam has recently married a young doctor, Sohail, in Lahore. He and his progressive mother encourage Hafsa’s parents to let her attend the summer school, on the proviso that she can stay with Shabnam and Lahore. Hafsa is in seventh heaven until she realises that she inadvertently signed up for the wrong summer school, and she is at the climate change one instead of the medical one!
However, this is but a small setback for the ambitious Hafsa. She launches herself into learning about climate change, and finds a personal connection with a shackled elephant in the local zoo. Through campaigning and rallying support to have the elephant, Gulab, taken to a sanctuary, Hafsa learns that in the face of devastation and hopelessness, one girl can make a difference. Things have a way of turning out for a determined, kind girl like Hafsa. People look out for her and doors open where previously they were closed.
I have met a few driven young women like Hafsa. Recently I even had the pleasure of having an ambitious young Muslim student shadow me for work experience. They invariably want to work in medicine to make a difference. I would love for them to read a book like this to see how many different fields, not just medicine and health, require great, inquiring minds; strong, hard-working bodies; and dedicated, courageous hearts.
Text Publishing 2026
Aisha Saeed
Zewlan Moor is the author of Nothing Alike, The Bill Dup and Our World: Philippines. Her next book, Say Hello Like an Armadillo is out in the US/UK in June 2026 and Australia in Summer 2026-7. Pre-order or add it to your Goodreads Want To Read shelf now!
