book data
415 ratings, 3.62 average rating, 139 reviews
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published
May 22nd 2006
(first published 2005)
by Marion Lloyd Books
binding
Paperback, 368 pages
isbn
0439950589
(isbn13: 9780439950589)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 640)
Read in September, 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 re...more
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 re...more
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Read in August, 2007
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 b...more
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Read in September, 2007
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...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
high school girls
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 stereotype...more
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 stereotype...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
teens
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 ...more
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 ...more
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Read in November, 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 un...more
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 un...more
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Read in July, 2007
...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.
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Read in August, 2007
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 ...more
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 ...more
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Read in January, 2008
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 ...more
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 ...more
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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 rus...more
“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 rus...more
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Read in December, 2007
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, jus...more
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Read in August, 2008
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 autho...more
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 autho...more
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Read in November, 2007
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 ...more
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 ...more
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Amal is the ONLY Arab Muslim at her super posh, super private, super conservative Australian High School. Amal sticks out like a sore thumb! During Winter Break, Amal decides she is going to wear the hijab fulltime. She discusses this with her parents who back her decision, but want to make sure Amal understands the prejudices she might face. When she starts back at school on Monday, her world changes. Amal is a strong, funny and likeable character. The hijab is a badge of her faith and Amal we...more
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Read in November, 2007
I enjoyed this very much, though I really could tell this was a first time author. The book could've used some editing and it felt a bit like she had to include certain incidents and was checking them off a list. Still, Amal and her friends are delightful to read about, and it's such a nice change to have the main character be Muslim (instead of a supporting character is there is one at all) in a YA novel. I found it quite interesting that even though she covered up she continued to worry abo...more
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Read in October, 2007
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 s...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
all hijabs that have those days where they wonder wat it wd be like if they werent a hijabi:)
for a girl living in the west and wearing the hijab, reading this book, as you turn each page and read between the lines, you will find yourself muttering..."i know exactly what Amal means!"
and as for those that question why the hijab is worn or how we might feel wearing it, this will explain it with humour!pretty neat book, light to read and entertaining.
and as for those that question why the hijab is worn or how we might feel wearing it, this will explain it with humour!pretty neat book, light to read and entertaining.
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Read in November, 2008
Amal is a Muslim Palestinian-Australian who decides to wear the hijab full-time, and the book traces all the fall-out from that. Her parents aren't sure, the principal at her snotty school freaks out, the popular girls mock her, the boy she likes isn't sure what to think..... I liked that this was set in Australia, which I don't see that often. And I liked the way the author showed the range of Muslim culture - there are Palestinians and Turks and Pakistanis (all of which white Western cultur...more
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Sixteen year-old Amal has just made the biggest decision of her life to become a full-timer , which means to wear the hijab, the head scarf worn by female Muslims. Amal goes to a preparatory school in Australia, and at first worries that her hijab will cause other kids to make fun of her. Throughout the course of the book, Amal realizes the merits of her decision as she encounters a first reciprocated crush, a best friend with a well-intentioned but controlling mother, and prejudice agains...more
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