Does My Head Look Big in This?
by Randa Abdel-Fattah
by Randa Abdel-Fattah
DOES MY HEAD LOOK BIG IN THIS? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 5/1/07
Publisher: Orchard Books
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
Rating: 5 Stars
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!
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 5/1/07
Publisher: Orchard Books
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
Rating: 5 Stars
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!
