Review of The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan

"The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan" by Salma Hussain (no relation), is a middle grade novel that is exactly what it says on the cover, it is, literally, the secret diary of Mona Hasan, a young girl going through a particularly important year of her life, namely 1991. So it's a period piece as well, from back before the days of the internet.

It's also a glimpse into a very interesting combination of life experiences. Mona is South Asian and at the start of the novel is an 11 year old child of a successful expat banker in Dubai, enjoying a comfortable upper middle class life along with her younger sister. Her school and home environment are rich with friends and neighbours of many different backgrounds and the first part of the novel describes a very happy childhood mainly concerned with navigating social hierarchies at school, dealing with the confusion of the First Gulf War which was happening at the same time, and a growing awareness of boys.

Which kind of highlights how cleverly subversive the book is as the sort of growing up challenges Mona experiences, such as having a first crush, finding out about forbidden adult knowledge through listening in on adults, going through puberty etc., are topics that are usually avoided in Muslim communities. The author Salma Hussain, like Mona, has no problems with being blunt about them but while 11 year old Mona explores these in the privacy of her diary, Salma is breaking these taboos in public through the novel while remaining heartfelt and funny throughout.

The thing to know about Mona Hasan, the main character, is that she is a brat. She is convinced of her mental superiority and supremely confident in her opinions, which is what makes her thoughts well worth reading, but she's also a sharp observer of life and willing to record the perspectives of others. For example, it's Mona's younger sister who is able to see through the propaganda of the Gulf War and feel heartsick for all the Iraqis who died while Mona only cares about the number of American dead, which was the only number reported on the news. Moments like these gives richness and depth to everyone in the story even if Mona treats them like side characters, placing herself firmly in the role of the main character.

Her haughtiness is challenged though as her family immigrates to Canada. The contrast between the comfort of her pampered life in the UAE at the start of the year and helping her dad run a struggling gas station in Halifax at the end is fascinating and how Mona reacts to this, as well as the completely unfamiliar social dynamics of her new school, are a highlight.

Mona may be a brat, but that's just another way of saying audacious. Her point of view, on topics both taboo and ordinary, which makes up the entirety of the novel, is compelling. She's a wonderful young kid, well worth listening to, and she, and the novel are both exactly as audacious as they need to be.

Salma Hussain has written a book that's not only incredible, but also skilfully addresses incredibly important issues with joy and heart.

She also has a new Young Adult book out that's just recently launched in Oct 2026 titled "It's Not Over Yet" that also seems to be just as good if not better. Now you may ask why I'm not reviewing that and instead reviewing a book that launched in 2022 that I've had since 2023 and the answer is, and I'm sure Mona will agree, life isn't always what you want, but it is what you make it. Better late than never.

So yeah highly recommend "The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan", not only for middle grade readers, but also older ones, 4.5 stars, and oh yeah, the ending is just absolutely delightful.