DOES MY HEAD LOOK BIG IN THIS?
BY RANDA ABDEL FATTAH
SYNOPSIS:
When sixteen years 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 it does make her a little different from everyone else.
Can she handle the taunts of "towel head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract the cutest boy in school? Brilliantly funny and poignant, Randa Abdel-Fattah's debut novel will strike a chord in all teenage readers, no matter what their beliefs.
Let's talk about this book. I liked the characters. I liked the story. But it feels INCREDIBLY dated now. It was published in 2005 and is set, in 2002. The characters watch Friends and Seinfeld. They send text messages like twice a day because those suckers cost 25c each. They hang out in chat rooms because social media didn't exist. They go to Timezone and Sanity after school. They shop on Bridge Road because that's where all the outlet stores were at the time.
So it spoke very strongly to MY teen experiences, and all of that stuff was a complete "Oh my God, I remember when we used to do that!!" trip. But I have no idea whether teenagers in 2017 would relate to it, even if they go to snooty private schools in Melbourne's eastern suburbs...
I'll also add that while I loved both of their characters and I really liked Amal's parents, it felt like Amal and Leila's experiences were meant to represent the two opposite ends of the Muslim spectrum. Amal's parents are incredibly liberal and let her attend a party at a boy's house where there's likely to be alcohol. Leila's parents are incredibly conservative and her mother is desperate to marry her off to a good Turkish Muslim man who'll support her before Leila gets any more ideas in her head about becoming a lawyer and having a career. So yeah. It would have been nice to see more stuff that was somewhere in the middle.
Nostalgia factor? 10/10. But it was occasionally slightly preachy and I have no idea if teenagers would relate to a lot of it.
I highly recommended this book for all hijabers around the world. This gave inspiration for hijabers who were living in different places and time to be confident with your look and don't be ashamed if you're different than others. So, hijabers please read this..Thank you....Happy reading guys...
RATING:
💗💗💗💗💗
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