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Does My Head Look Big In This? (Siskodisko)

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 4,231 ratings · 782 reviews

When sixteen-year-old Amal decides to wear the hijab full-time, her entire world changes, all because of a piece of cloth...

Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full- time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if i...more

Hardcover, 360 pages

Published May 1st 2007 by Orchard Books (first published August 1st 2005)

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Sep 12, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, ya, religious, humour, 2008

This was a random buy, picked up mostly because, flipping through it, the word Tasmania caught my eye - and then I read that the author is Australian. For purely nostalgic reasons I just had to read it.

Amal is a year 11 student in her third term at a posh private school in Melbourne. She's also Muslim. An only child, her parents are health-care professionals, she has a large extended family and friends from all backgrounds and religions. Before third term begins, she decides she's ready to wear...more

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Sep 09, 2007 Kricket rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2007, teen-fiction, australia, religious-searching

Amal decides, completely on her own and without pressure from her (also Muslim) parents, to wear a headscarf (hijab) "full-time." Why? She wants to make a statement of her faith, and it makes her feel close to God as well as brave, especially at her prep school where she is the only Muslim. She also points out what a relief it is not to have to worry about people judging her body and worrying about her hair (but she encounters frequent judging of the hijab itself, and frequently spends as much t...more Amal decides, completely on her own and without pressure from her (also Muslim) parents, to wear a headscarf (hijab) "full-time." Why? She wants to make a statement of her faith, and it makes her feel close to God as well as brave, especially at her prep school where she is the only Muslim. She also points out what a relief it is not to have to worry about people judging her body and worrying about her hair (but she encounters frequent judging of the hijab itself, and frequently spends as much time arranging it as she did her hair.)

My biggest problem was the preachiness. Instead of letting the story unfold naturally, the author adds numerous fake-feeling situations in which Amal defends her faith. I could list many, but the absolute cheesiest is when Amal is on a bus and the bus driver clearly hates her and her hijab. He turns up a radio show conveniently discussing "violent, terrible Muslims" until a kindly old woman next to Amal makes him turn it down. She then tells Amal about how she used to work with Muslim women and how she loved their hijabs and food. The scene was sappy and contrived, with crap dialogue to boot, and unfortunately the book is full of these.

Second biggest problem? Although the author clearly wrote this book partially for those who don't know a lot about Islam (has Amal explaining some basics of prayer and holidays to her non-Muslim friends, etc) she never gets into the meat of the hijab issue. Namely, WHY the headscarf is the chosen symbol of faith. Where does it come from? What's the history here? Or why, for example, Muslim women wear their symbol of faith on their heads, and not Muslim men. The narrator does make a reference to "hard-core feminists who don't get that this is me exercising my right to choose" but she never really explains WHY she made her decision, except that she just felt ready.

In summary, (in case you want to skip all of my above ranting) Abdel-Fattah spends too much time defending Islam to the obviously ignorant characters in the book, and not enough time explaining the faith of Muslims to her very intelligent readers who want to know.

Oh, if you have any recommendations for quality teen lit about Islam, PLEASE let me know!!(less)

24 likes · like · see review

Sep 04, 2007 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

Amal is Palestinian-Australian Muslim girl in eleventh grade at her snooty Melbourne prep school, when she decides that she is ready to wear the hijab, the headscarf, full time. She knows that it’s not going to be easy—she sticks out enough at her school just for being Muslim, and adding the hijab is going to make her a target for people to stare and ask her if she’s a terrorist. But she is sure that it is the right thing for her to do. Amal is smart and sassy and opinionated, and the book explo...more Amal is Palestinian-Australian Muslim girl in eleventh grade at her snooty Melbourne prep school, when she decides that she is ready to wear the hijab, the headscarf, full time. She knows that it’s not going to be easy—she sticks out enough at her school just for being Muslim, and adding the hijab is going to make her a target for people to stare and ask her if she’s a terrorist. But she is sure that it is the right thing for her to do. Amal is smart and sassy and opinionated, and the book explores not only the experience of a modern hijab-wearing Muslim girl, but also that of Amal’s best friend, whose mother is traditional and wants her daughter to get married at sixteen.

I enjoyed reading this book, for the most part, but there were things that bothered me quite a bit. First of all, Amal talks about the social challenges of the hijab, but never talks about the fact that when you cover your head all the time, it can get hot. It can give you a headache. And it can make your hair flat. She doesn’t really address any of these practical issues.

Also, while it is nice to have a Muslim protagonist to a teen novel, it often feels like Randa Abdel-Fattah has a point she wants to make, and she beats you over the head with it just about as unsubtly as possible. Muslims are not all terrorists. Islam believes in peace, not in blowing people up, and there are crazies in every religion who use extremism. Nice, normal modern Muslims do not condone terrorism nor support it. Also, primitive Islamic customs with a submissive woman who marries at sixteen and has no career or life outside the house is VILLAGE custom, not a tenet of Islam. No really, it’s not—Islam lets a woman go to University and be a professional, modern woman.

Abdel-Fattah beats those messages into your head with a clue-by-four, and it’s kind of irritating. I wanted Amal to feel like a real person—and she sometimes does—but too often, she feels like a vehicle for the author to get her point out. Too preachy and too repetitive.
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Oct 25, 2010 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: high school girls

Shelves: age-high-school

I snatched this book right up off the new books shelf, because how often do you see a girl wearing a hijab on the cover? The cover flap told me that it was about 16-year-old Amal's decision, as an Australian-Palestinian-Muslim girl, to wear the head scarf full-time.

And that's really the basis for the story. This seemingly small decision is a big deal for her parents, who don't want her to jump into a big decision, her classmates at her snobby prep school, who take advantage of the stereotypes th...more I snatched this book right up off the new books shelf, because how often do you see a girl wearing a hijab on the cover? The cover flap told me that it was about 16-year-old Amal's decision, as an Australian-Palestinian-Muslim girl, to wear the head scarf full-time.

And that's really the basis for the story. This seemingly small decision is a big deal for her parents, who don't want her to jump into a big decision, her classmates at her snobby prep school, who take advantage of the stereotypes that Muslims are terrorists and keep their women downtrodden, her crush, Adam, who just wants to like her without religion "getting in the way," and her two pairs of friends (two are Muslim, two are not), who support her unconditionally.

What I liked most about this book was that Amal herself never had a crisis of faith; she was in a stable family with a solid foundation that religion is ideally based on education and respect. When Amal decides to wear her beliefs so visibly, it really brings to her notice the different views of those around her, from her cranky Greek Orthodox neighber to her friend Leila's ultra-conservative mom who just wants to marry Leila off at a young age (which Amal's mom does not agree with, even though they are both Muslim). Finally, Amal makes peace with the idea of what it means when god says, "we have created man and know what his soul is whispering within him. We are closer to him than his jugular vein." She knows that there are more important reasons to do things than because your parents say so or because of what your friends will think. This is a typical teen story full of food, friends, crushes, music, and TV, but it develops a heart as it goes.

Favorite quote:

"Mr. Taylor has this habit of emphasizing his point by using three adjectives or verbs in a row. 'Class, you must know,' Simon begins [imitating] in a droning voice, flinging her arms around at every syllable, 'that should you fail to understand, to comprehend, to FEEL the power of the Constitution’s words you will lose, forfeit, SURRENDER your ability to master the meaning of this most important document. You must read with an open mind in order to nurture, care for, and FOSTER your citizenship. Do I make myself clear, succinct, and COMPREHENSIBLE?'
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Nov 10, 2012 April rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, own, multicultural

I've always been interested in learning about religions which are different from mine. I was raised Baptist. I've learned a lot about Judaism through books. The only books I've read pertaining to Islam though, were A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseni. When I saw a young adult book featuring a Muslim girl on the cover, my interest was piqued.
Read the rest of my review here

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Feb 21, 2011 Morgan F rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, nfa-library, 2000s, aussie, religion, its-a-girl, surviving-school, realistic, read-2011, medium-sized, fiction, multicultural

Sixteen year old Amal makes a momentous decision right before the start of a new term at her snotty private school: she will wear the hijab. The hijab, an outward expression of her Muslim faith, will put new pressures onto Amal in addition to the normal teenagers-stressers of school, boys, and the popular crowd. Amal struggles to juggle her religious beliefs with high school drama, and is determined to define herself on her own term's and not on the judgment of others.

I know. That was a sucky su...more Sixteen year old Amal makes a momentous decision right before the start of a new term at her snotty private school: she will wear the hijab. The hijab, an outward expression of her Muslim faith, will put new pressures onto Amal in addition to the normal teenagers-stressers of school, boys, and the popular crowd. Amal struggles to juggle her religious beliefs with high school drama, and is determined to define herself on her own term's and not on the judgment of others.

I know. That was a sucky summary. But its late and I'm tired and I just got done watching Titanic for the sixth time. I'm in a game with my friend. Every time Titanic is on cable, we have to watch it, talking to each other over the phone during the duration of the film as proof. The first one to break is subjected to mockery for the rest of their life.

Does My Head Look Big In This? is written by an Australian author, which was enough incentive for me to pick it up. Not only does it count towards Nic's challenge, rarely does an Aussie book disappoint. Unfortunately, this one kind of did.

I do not know much about Muslims, their religion, their culture, or their traditions. I know the stereotypes, but my public education is seriously lacking in the areas of cultures and religions. I only know one Muslim personally, my best friend's boyfriend, who is a sexist tool (I have no idea why my friend puts up with him), so I don't exactly want to discuss his religious beliefs with him over a cup of tea. I especially don't know the female perspective. This book, although it tried to provoke empathy, hardly educated me. Although Amal makes it clear to the reader that her decision to wear the hijab was completely her choice, and that the more fanatical Muslims that we see on the news are a product of their culture, not their faith, Amal never does go into depth about what are her beliefs. What does the hijab represent, for that matter? Its such a big deal to Amal, but I have no idea why. The depth of the religion was never explored.

Also, this book was very preachy and contrived. There were situations in this book that were created just so that Amal could preach to the reader about how hurtful is is to be judged, both in the areas of religion and physical appearance. It felt like one of those awkward product placements on Days of Our Lives. I felt like I was getting bashed over the head most of the time.

Amal, although she had a good sense of humor, was too....girly for me. She and her best friends were so teenager-y. "Like, did he ask you out?" *giggle squeal giggle* "That lipgloss is soooo good on you!" *giggle squeal giggle* "You look sssoo gorgeous! Stop eating carrots!"........gah. I'm a teenager, but I've never been like that. The reason as to why I do not have a boyfriend? Perhaps.

Overall, the book had a good message, but it wasn't particularly enjoyable enough to be impressionable. Some girls will eat it up, but I was kind of annoyed. (less)

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Nov 18, 2007 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen, 2007

This is another quick read. I finished it within 2 days of starting.

It is 2002, and Amal is the only Muslim at her private prep school in Australia. She is a fairly new student, as her previous school – a private Islamic school – only went to 10th grade. While watching a Friends episode during a break from school, she has an epiphany. She decides to wear a hijab (headscarf). It isn’t the first time she has worn it, but unlike before, this is her decision, not part of her school uniform. She face...more This is another quick read. I finished it within 2 days of starting.

It is 2002, and Amal is the only Muslim at her private prep school in Australia. She is a fairly new student, as her previous school – a private Islamic school – only went to 10th grade. While watching a Friends episode during a break from school, she has an epiphany. She decides to wear a hijab (headscarf). It isn’t the first time she has worn it, but unlike before, this is her decision, not part of her school uniform. She faces opposition from family, from school officials and from classmates. She also receives encouragement from members of the same groups.

Not only does Amal struggle with the effects of wearing the hijab, but she also is challenged with a crush (she doesn’t believe in dating or kissing before marriage), school bullies/racists, friendships, and other typical teenage events.

Overall, it was an OK book. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I did feel that it was a little to candy coated at times, and at others a little too preachy. Some of the conversations between Amal and her friends read as lessons on Islam and what it means to be Muslim. They just didn’t flow as a conversation between friends normally would. I was a little thrown by some of the references in the book, as I didn’t think of them as Australian things (“stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey”) or because the American version is different. An example of the latter – Amal states that a large body of water looked like a pool of lemonade. As I’ve recently learned (thanks to my sister’s trip to Oz and talking with a friend who lives there), lemonade in the US (yellow drink made of lemons, water and sugar) is different than lemonade in Australia (think Sprite). So, Amal’s vision of a pool of lemonade was a crystal and sparkling lake, and mine was of a lake filled with urine. Yeah…I think that was a bit lost in “translation”

Would I recommend this book? Eh, maybe. If someone was looking for a book with a strong Muslim female as the main character, then yes, as there is a short supply of such material for any age group. Just for something to read, I would probably suggest something else. Although I learned more about being a Muslim teen than I already knew, the entertainment value was missing from this book.

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Oct 15, 2007 Mimo rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teens

Shelves: funny, ya

Have you ever had one of those weeks/months/years where no book is able to hold your attention? And you need a good one to break the trend? For me, this was that book.

Amal is a 17 year-old Muslim Australian who goes to a snobby (read WASP) school in the suburbs. She's always been a practicing muslim, but before the start of this book she hasn't worn the scarf, or hijab, full time. Does My Head Look Big in This chronicles her journey from deciding to "go full time" (inspired by an episode of Fri...more

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Jul 13, 2007 Noreen rated it 1 of 5 stars

...oh dear. Political comment thinly - and poorly - disguised as teenage chicklit. Badly written, tedious and ranty; fancies itself as simultaneously intellectual and American-sitcom-ish. And, ironically, crammed full of stereotypes.

6 likes · like · see review

Sep 13, 2008 Bakeel rated it 1 of 5 stars

MARRRAAAA MA Y7AMSSSSssss =(

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Feb 20, 2010 Marybeth Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: EVERYONE!!!

Recommended to Marybeth by: Clarence :P

Hilariously funny, filled with regular day-to-day teenage life, has cute characters, Randa Abdel-Fattah writes with feeling and humor; what more is there to say? This book is really cute. One of the other things I liked about it was that it tells you a lot about Muslin life. (Yes, this book is about a Muslim girl growing up in Australia.) It was interesting to learn about their culture, not to mention that Amal, (The main character) has friends from all different religions and backgrounds. So yo...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, trt-gold-star-award-winner

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Let me start out by saying that DOES MY HEAD LOOK BIG IN THIS? is a book that needed to be written, and one that needs to be read. It definitely fills a gap in young adult literature: it's a story about a normal Muslim girl in a non-Muslim country (Australia) who is not escaping oppression by a fundamentalist government/family or anything like that. Amal is just a normal teenage girl, albeit a Muslim one. She has crushes on boys, she likes to go sho...more Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Let me start out by saying that DOES MY HEAD LOOK BIG IN THIS? is a book that needed to be written, and one that needs to be read. It definitely fills a gap in young adult literature: it's a story about a normal Muslim girl in a non-Muslim country (Australia) who is not escaping oppression by a fundamentalist government/family or anything like that. Amal is just a normal teenage girl, albeit a Muslim one. She has crushes on boys, she likes to go shopping, she giggles with her friends, and she sometimes argues with her parents or feuds with classmates.

However, Amal's life is changed drastically when she makes a major decision: to wear the hijab, the head scarf worn by Muslim women. This would not be nearly such a big deal were she still at school with all of her friends who are also Muslim and some of whom wear the hijab full-time (meaning: whenever she is around men who are not relatives) as well. However, Amal has recently transferred to a very white-bread prep school, where the environment is completely different.

Amal is subjected to racism and discrimination by kids whose experience with Muslims has largely been confined to what they see in the media. The reactions she faces at home are not all positive, either, but Amal has made a choice. To her, it is a personal, religious decision, to show her devotion to God; it's not about being oppressed as some of her classmates seem to think, or making any sort of statement. Being a Muslim is a part of who Amal is, but in showing that, she faces things a lot worse than any evangelical Christian I know, and that's a sad commentary on our society.

All of that aside, Randa Abdel-Fattah's book is very well-written, and I loved Amal's voice. The characters in this book (particularly Amal) were great. DOES MY HEAD LOOK BIG IN THIS? is actually a little reminiscent of the wonderful LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI by Melina Marchetta, and that's high praise, indeed! The main characters feel similarly different from their peers, are both Australian, and even have sort of similar voices.

This book is more than worth reading; it's a must-read! (less)

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Dec 12, 2008 Khalid rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: already-read

"Does My Head Look Big In This?" is the story of a Australian-Palestinian girl who decides to wear Hijab and the way her surroundings react to this decision.

I chose to read this book because the subject of Hijab is an interesting one to me; Hijab, in Saudi Arabia, extends beyond what's available in this story. Here, a woman is expected to cover her face completely, not just her hair. I am completely against that for more than one reason, the simplest of which are the fact that it's merely a cul...more "Does My Head Look Big In This?" is the story of a Australian-Palestinian girl who decides to wear Hijab and the way her surroundings react to this decision.

I chose to read this book because the subject of Hijab is an interesting one to me; Hijab, in Saudi Arabia, extends beyond what's available in this story. Here, a woman is expected to cover her face completely, not just her hair. I am completely against that for more than one reason, the simplest of which are the fact that it's merely a cultural thing and not a religious thing, and the religious folk around here consider it a good habit that they do not wish to change (Which I really find bad, because who are they to decide what's "Good to have" and what's not; they should realize that the preferences of the top guys trickle down to become imperatives that have to be followed). The other goes into the human side of things; our faces are an important part of our identities, and who are we without our identities?

There is a lot to say about the subject, but I'm not here to go into a whole rant about the subject of Hijab. Afterall, the form of Hijab used in this book is not the one I'm against. Still, though, it is interesting to read about it; the question I had opening the book was: Is Hijab going to change the girl's behavior, is it going to serve its desired purpose of not attracting men, is it going to make her a better Muslim?

The answer, on all three counts, is a big fat no. I'm not going to say that the author was even trying to say that Hijab is good, she may have wanted to demonstrate exactly the opposite, I am not sure (In fact, you may be very interested to learn that the author herself does not wear Hijab, apparently, I just realized that now by visiting her author page in Goodreads). For all we know, she may have wanted to demonstrate exactly that Hijab is not what a real Muslim is about; and if this was what she aimed for, I would say that she did a good job at that.

Why? Well, for one thing, she managed to dance in front of guys with her Hijab (And I'm sure you realize that dancing will attract far more attention than hair). She started putting more make up. And even though the act of putting the Hijab itself gave people around her the brief idea that she's "out of bounds", she managed, during the course of the story, to change that, and make people feel that her Hijab has no "I'm pure" effect at all. I'm not going to go further into that in order to not spoil the story for you.

But then again, let me go back and say, it's a novel. You do not have to have a point in the novel. It is there for entertainment purposes, and she did entertain us with very interesting stories. This author has the potential of being a very good novel writer, but her story was lacking a very important ingredient. It had the interesting small problems, the interactions, the complete theme, the good and the bad people. So what is missing?

I'd say that a real "story" is actually missing. Yes, she decided to wear Hijab two pages into the story, and then what? What are we looking for towards the end? There are important elements of fiction that are missing here. I would say that the way it is written right now, it's nothing more than a set of interesting glorified short stories that deal with the same people over and over.

Finally, I would have to commend the author for the cultural touch of the book; I believe the best thing about this book is that it leaves us with an idea about the lives of Muslims living in foreign countries, some of their struggle with keeping their culture intact, and the cultural pressure they undergo during unfortunate events.

In summary, read this book; expect some entertainment, and you may be left with something to think about, but do not expect a solid storyline.(less)

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Apr 21, 2009 Tessa rated it 1 of 5 stars

Young adult book about a high school student in Australia who decides to wear the hijab. I don't love this one. Written in the first person present tense, I feel like the narrator’s lecturing me. Other than that, the writing style is good. It’s humorous and sometimes that works. I think two things are unsettling for me: Nothing much changes. The main character decides to wear the hijab and sticks to that decision but doesn’t really examine it except superficially. So we don’t see any growth or c...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Yousra Serry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Let me start out by saying that this book is a book that NEEDED to be written, and one that, definitely, need to be read.
this is such a brilliant book. This book is about the life of a Muslim teen struggling to live her life according to her religion while she is surrounded by prejudice and ignorance. it's written in an easy, funny way so it never gets too depressing or boring.
What I liked most about this book was how it shows how awfully scared Amal is to wear the hijab because of how it chang...more

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Apr 13, 2009 Leslie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I don’t know about anybody else, but I’d want to return to my high school years about as much as I’d want to see the IRS on my caller ID. Those years are tough on all of us, a time for our rapidly growing ideas and minds to catch up with our rapidly growing body parts, a time to figure out who you are. My path through those hormonal years was rarely clear of debris and thorny sticks, and I always watched with a little bit of envy those whose path seemed clearer and more focused than mine.

Amal i...more I don’t know about anybody else, but I’d want to return to my high school years about as much as I’d want to see the IRS on my caller ID. Those years are tough on all of us, a time for our rapidly growing ideas and minds to catch up with our rapidly growing body parts, a time to figure out who you are. My path through those hormonal years was rarely clear of debris and thorny sticks, and I always watched with a little bit of envy those whose path seemed clearer and more focused than mine.

Amal is one of those people. She’s a typical teenager in her Melbourne prep school. She’s on the debate team, has a close circle of girlfriends, is concerned about her clothes matching and whether she has a zit, and most importantly, if the cutest boy she’s had a crush on for ages is noticing her. But there’s one thing that’s not so typical, she’s a Palestinian-Muslim, the only one in her school and this year she’s decided to wear her head scarf (hijab) fulltime as a statement of her faith.

It’s 2002, a year after the September 11th attacks and a few months away from the Bali explosion in Indonesia. Tensions against Muslims are running high everywhere, in her school, her neighborhood, and in her city. Yet, Amal is a strong young woman who has come to the decision to stand up for what she believes in, despite the obstacles, and in the end they only seem to increase her resolve to stick with what she believes in.

What’s not to like about a story about a young teen who clearly knows what she wants? For someone who knows nothing about the Muslim religion, I found what was discussed here a light taste of something infinite. The author was clearly trying to explain to non-Muslims that Muslims are just like everybody else, through Amal’s interactions with her parents, her extended family and her friends, but I might’ve liked seeing a deeper look, like why Muslim women wear the hijab in the first place. Not all Muslims are terrorists, I get it. The majority of them are peace loving people trying to do the best for their families. This was probably the main point of the book, over and over and over again.

Therein lies my problem with this story. Think peachy with an r conveniently situated. The plot was so well calculated it didn’t flow naturally for me. It didn’t seem realistic at all, from her relationship to her parents, to her experiences with prejudice, and especially her discussions with her friends. In college maybe, but 11th grade? Really? What planet is she from? Maturatron. (Did they wear leg warmers there too?) Oh, why couldn’t I have been from there as a teen!

Kudos to you, Ms. Abdel-Fattah, for creating a strong female lead for other teens to look up to, but next time ease up a bit on the moral lessons as it sometimes makes a teen, er…an adult like me rebel and give you 2.5 stars. Sorry.

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Mar 09, 2012 Sabrina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sabrina Smith
Multicultural

Amal is an Australian-Palestinian teenager. She decides to wear the hijab(head scarf) full time as a sign of her Muslim faith, and faces the reactions of her friends, neighbors, family, classmates, and strangers. She deals with the prejudice that inevitably follows, and explains her beliefs to others. Along the way, she helps a friend whose mother is trying to force her into marriage, befriends her lonely neighbor, and deals with typical teen challenges.
Being an Austra...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Summer {MissFictional} rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: main-characters-that-annoy-me, it-was-good-i-guess

I have a massive amount of respect for Randa Abdel-Fattah for at least attempting to show that Muslims aren't these extremists that the media portrays us as, but instead just normal people. So props to her for her bravery.

BUT, being a Muslim myself, I feel like the author did not do a very good job of representing Islam, and on top of that, provided unrealistic scenarios that are very unlikely to happen.

Amal is very annoying. She is one of those stereotypical teen girls authors think they unders...more I have a massive amount of respect for Randa Abdel-Fattah for at least attempting to show that Muslims aren't these extremists that the media portrays us as, but instead just normal people. So props to her for her bravery.

BUT, being a Muslim myself, I feel like the author did not do a very good job of representing Islam, and on top of that, provided unrealistic scenarios that are very unlikely to happen.

Amal is very annoying. She is one of those stereotypical teen girls authors think they understand, but in reality, do not know ANYTHING about. The author tried WAY too hard to sound like a teenager, but she really made Amal sound like a shallow, whining 12-year-old.

I appreciate the feminist ideals in this book, which I think were necessary, but the author did not do well in actually integrating these ideals into the novel. She provided unrealistic scenarios, as I mentioned before. For example, the main character's best friend has a daughter who wants to get her married at a young age, an arranged marriage. As much as I loathe arranged marriages. I for one find it hard to believe that these kind of people exist in Australia. I don't know, maybe they do, but I know TONS of Arabs families who do not make their daughters marry who they want them to marry, or even at a young age. Who is going to marry a teenage girl who hasn't even finished high school yet?

The dialogue was So. Annoying. It was UNBEARABLE. No teenager repeatedly brings up religion in a normal conversation with her friends without being labeled as some preacher or overly-religious person.

I also found it very far-fetched that the main character would go through so much racist comments and discrimination in the course of one story, which I believe was about half a year. Come on, I wear a Hijab (scarf) too, and the most discrimination I face is the occasional rude comment (VERY rare) or just curious stares. It just was not believable that so much discrimination would be directed at one person.

The points that the author was trying to get across were so unsubtle and awkward. It felt like a teacher trying to shove everything in your mind all at once. In addition, she failed to explain what's the point in wearing a scarf. Duh, because of religion, but WHY do we have to wear it? What's the symbolism and what role does it play for a Muslim woman? Sadly, Abdel-Fattah doesn't answer any of these questions.

To tell you the truth, I recommend this book to people who are completely ignorant about Islam and know nothing about it, rather than people who actually know about Islam and are actually interested in learning about. (less)

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 11, 2011 Nawal Al-Qussyer rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 104-books-in-2011-project

سمعت عن الكتاب كثيرا.. وما سمعته من المديح كان كثيرا جدا جدا. لذلك عندما شاهدت الكتاب على رف المكتبة التقطه بسرعه لشراءه .. وكأني لا أتوب من الحماس لكتاب تحدث عنه الكثيرين. لكن طبعا كما هو واضح من التقييم أن الكتاب ليس جيد كفاية بالنسبة لي..

بداية الكتاب يتحدث عن الفتاة أمل المسلمة -في سن المراهقة- من أسره فلسطينية تعيش في استراليا. والتي قررت أن ترتدي الحجاب بإلهام من رايتشيل قرين - نعم شخصية من مسلسل فرندز الشهير - حينما قررت ريتشل أن تظهر أمام الحضور غير مكترثة بما يقوله الناس عن ردائها في أح...more

8 likes · like · see review

Feb 14, 2008 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Australian-Palestinian girl Amal decides to start wearing the hijab full time, faces racism and stupidity at school, joins the debate team, has a crush, and deals with her friends' problems: Leila has a strict mother who wants her to leave school and get married, while Simone is a size 14 and has much angst about her figure and unlovability.

It is a book with a fabulous voice and a lot of genuine humor--I skipped through some pages at random to refresh my memory and got, "So is it like nuns? Are...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 03, 2008 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think the author (or publisher?) had a few goals in mind for this book.

1. Provide awareness and understanding for the lifestyle and beliefs of Islam.
2. Show someone trying to be herself in the face of adversity.
3. Illustrate a whole range of family/personal/religious issues that others go through and link them to show that the situations may be slightly different, but we all go through similar insecurities about our cultures and being different.
4. Show that a teen Muslim girl is pretty much st...more

5 likes · like · see review

Mar 12, 2008 West Region, added it

Shelves: high_school_08, realisticfiction, highschool

Does My Head Look Big in This? – Randa Abdel-Fattah

“It hit me when I was power walking on the treadmill at home, watching a Friends rerun for about the nineteenth time.
It’s that scene when Jennifer Aniston is dressed in a hideous bridesmaid’s outfit at her ex’s wedding. Everyone’s making fun of her and she wants to run away and hide. Then she suddenly gets the guts to jump onstage and sing some song called ‘Copacabana,’ whatever that means. I’m telling you, this rush of absolute power and convi...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 07, 2008 Anna Staniszewski rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was hoping this book would be laugh-out-loud funny - it wasn't. But it had a light-hearted tone and I felt like I got a lot out of it. It was so interesting to read about an Australian-Palestinian girl who was just a regular teenager, not a victim or a religious fanatic. Her faith was an important part of her life, but it wasn't her entire life. But more importantly, I think this kind of book reminds you that "Islamic militants" are a very small part of the Muslim population, just like "radica...more

9 likes · like · see review

Aug 12, 2008 Ashley rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-real-life-fiction, unfinished

Wow. I got through 25 pages of this book before throwing it aside.

I had picked this up on a whim from the library because it seemed moderately interesting and different from what I've read in the past. Sadly, it failed to entertain me for more than ten minutes.

The narrarator's voice is so annoying, it makes me want to scream. Dropping a pop culture reference every 10 words does not acheive a teen perspective. I should know, as I'm pretty much the age of Amal. And it seems as if the author is ope...more

6 likes · like · see review

Baneen The authors voice, I did not found annoying. Trust me, you made that comment about this book because you're just another western teenager who thinks a...more
Dec 15, 2010 07:47am

Ashley Um... what about my review gave the impression that I was prejudiced about Muslims? I actually picked this book up specifically because it was written...more
Dec 18, 2010 12:14pm

Sep 28, 2008 A. rated it 4 of 5 stars

It took me sometime to figure out how I feel about this book….I admit that there aren’t many books/novels that involve Muslims living in the western world, but at the same time I don’t feel that this particular book would be the best one to present an average view about Islam and Muslims.

While reading I felt that the writer was trying very hard to reflect a perfect picture about what she thinks an ideal Muslim family would look like…and to enhance the picture she also included how non-perfect Mu...more

3 likes · like · see review

Afifa I don't mean this as being rude or anything....but there wasn't must cussing in this book. It was mild compared to other books by scholastic which has...more
Jun 26, 2012 02:25am

A. Afifa wrote: "the writer is a religious Muslim living in the Western world..."

not sure what you meant with "religious Muslim"...as far as I know relig...more
Jun 26, 2012 02:19pm

Afifa Well...I can respect that. :) I am a Muslim myself so I know never to curse or cuss but i believe that should not be a big issue when reading the book...more
Jun 28, 2012 12:36am

Nov 07, 2007 BCL Teen Librarians rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic-fiction, being-different

An episode of Friends inspires Amal to take the plunge: she's going to wear the hijab full-time. Even at her private Australian prep school. Even around the boy she desperately likes. Even around the crazy, grumpy Greek Orthodox lady next door. Is she ready for it?

I loved how this book is about Amal taking ownership over her own beliefs and being proud of who she is! I just wish that the author spent less time talking about the random supporting characters; I wanted to know more about Amal and h...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 16, 2009 Gwen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

This was recommended to me by a teen co-worker and major reader, who had a friend who wore Hijab. It was a new perspective for me, funny, and a pretty realistic not too over the top teen voice.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 01, 2009 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was recommended to me by a YA librarian friend a while ago, and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. The author (herself an Australian-born Muslim Palestinian-Egyptian-chocoholic, as it says on the back) does a great job of counterbalancing the fears, worries, successes and joys of a teenager who's learning to be herself in every sense of the word. It's fascinating to get inside the head of a character with such a different life experience than mine, being not only Australian but al...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 31, 2009 Mahathi rated it 2 of 5 stars

very interesting book. it has a mix of things, religion, beliefs, humor, sarcasm, and this awesomeness to it. cool book. but i dont recommend it since i got bored a couple of times. but it is a very suitable book and can have ppl laughing out loud. not bad. but definitely some teens will like it/love it.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 22, 2007 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

The premise of this book is great...Muslim girl decides to wear the hijab. The problem is that the book lacked depth. I never did understand WHY the main character decided to wear the veil. I understand that it's her religion but why did she wake up one day and decide to wear it full time? In addition to this, Amal obsesses about boys throughout the rest of the book. While I remember being a teenage girl and having huge crushes, the fact that Amal's life revolves around the hijab and Adam seems...more

2 likes · like · see review

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About Randa Abdel-Fattah

Randa Abdel-Fattah was born in Sydney in 1979. She is a Muslim of Palestinian and Egyptian heritage. She grew up in Melbourne and attended a Catholic primary school and Islamic secondary college where she obtained an International Baccaularetate. She studied Arts/Law at Melbourne University during which time she was the Media Liaison Officer at the Islamic council of Victoria, a role which afforde...more Randa Abdel-Fattah was born in Sydney in 1979. She is a Muslim of Palestinian and Egyptian heritage. She grew up in Melbourne and attended a Catholic primary school and Islamic secondary college where she obtained an International Baccaularetate. She studied Arts/Law at Melbourne University during which time she was the Media Liaison Officer at the Islamic council of Victoria, a role which afforded her the opportunity to write for newspapers and engage with media institutions about their representation of Muslims and Islam.

During university and her role at the ICV, Randa was a passionate human rights advocate and stood in the 1996 federal election as a member of the Unity Party-Say No To Hanson. Randa has also been deeply interested in inter-faith dialogue and has been a member of various inter-faith networks. She also volunteered with different human rights and migrant resource organisations including the Australian Arabic council, the Victorian migrant resource centre, Islamic women’s welfare council, Palestine human rights campaign, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, to name a few.

Randa has used her writing as a medium for expressing her views about the occupation of Palestine. Her articles about Palestine, Australian Muslims and the misunderstood status of women in Islam have been published in the Australian, the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Canberra Times, New Matilda, Le Monde (France).

Randa is frequently sought for comment by the media on issues pertaining to Palestine, Islam or Australian Muslims. She has appeared on SBS’s Insight, ABC’s First Tuesday Book Club, ABC’s Q & A, Channel 7’s Sunrise and Channel 10’s 9am.

Randa is also a regular guest at schools around Australia addressing students about her books and the social justice issues they raise. Randa has also been a guest at Sweden’s Gothenburg and Litterlund book festivals (2007 and 2008) and Kuala Lumpur’s Book festival (2008). She has also toured in Brunei and the UK.

Randa lives in Sydney with her husband and their two children. She works as a litigation lawyer. (less)

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“Belief means nothing without actions” — 89 people liked it

“Life isn’t like the movies. People don’t change overnight. people don’t go from arrogant and self-righteous to ashamed and remorseful. They don’t suddenly give in when they’ve spent years taking out. No doesn’t magically become a Yes.” — 62 people liked it

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