Book Review: Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah

While reading the last book I reviewed (post), it got very heavy at times so I needed a light read to lift up my mood. Thanfully I had my second Randa Abdel Fattah novel with me to accomplish that task.

After reading Randa’s debut novel “Does my head look big in this?” (post) I went back to Jarir bookstore specifically to get her second novel, that’s how much Ioved the first one. It was a light witty intelligent read filled with ironic laughter. What about the second novel then?

Well, it was good and drastically different from the first one. Jamela, a Lebanese Muslim girl living in Australia is known as Jamie in among her high school mates, who by the way do not now about her background nor that she is a Muslim from middle eastern origins. Protecting her identity is very crucial from Jamie especially given that her father is very strict and uptight. You can say that Jam is having an identity crisis -taking you back to the yucky high school years- and her way of facing discrimination in her home land is to try and blend in, be one of the crowd walking in the background, and laying low.

The writing is superb, the story is good, but its not as witty as the first book was. Nor did I like the ending that much. I felt that there could have been more to it, a few chapters perhaps. However, I did enjoy the book a lot and will keep it on my bookshelf. I’m seeking out the rest of Randa’s books for sure. It would be a perfect read in a busy day or maybe for summer lounging by the pool while being interrupted one million times.