1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abdel-Fattah, Randa. 2008. Does My Head Look Big in This? New York, NY: Scholastic Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0439922333
2. PLOT SUMMARY
When a sixteen year old Muslim girl in Australia decides to wear her hijab full time, even her family questions if it is the right decision. To Amal, the decision to be a ‘full-timer” is her way of embracing her faith and proclaiming her pride in her religion. However, at time she experiences doubt and struggles with some of the confines of her culture. As she adjusts to being a full-time wearer of the hijab, Amal discovers confidence in herself and learns to embrace the daily conventions of Islam.
Similar to the main character, Randa Abdel-Fattah is also an Australian-born Muslim who attended a Catholic elementary school. Due to these similar backgrounds, Abdel-Fattah is able to expertly pen a story filled with vividly exquisite cultural details. Amal’s story is replete with authentic examples of Islam. The descriptions of the hijabs chosen by Amal, and the care in which she chooses her outfits after becoming a full-time wearer of the hijab, are comprehensive and enable the reader to envision the outfit in its entirety. These detailed descriptions allow the reader to comprehend the enormity of her decision to wear a hijab full-time.
Amal’s
entertaining and often amusing narrative draw the reader in and create a story
that is thoroughly appealing. It is often Amal’s descriptions of family
dynamics that demonstrate the complications of being a Muslim in a post-9/11
world. Amal’s uncle and his attempts to
disregard his Islamic background and his obsession with Western vernacular are an
embarrassment to Amal. Conversely, her
best friend’s family is vehemently opposed to any leanings toward Western,
non-Islamic ideals.
One
of the more interesting elements in the story is Amal’s crush on a non-Muslim
boy in her prep school. As her Muslim friends
and she become close friends with some of the non-Muslim classmates, the
magnitude of the differences are evident, as is their inherent similarities.
Does My Head Look Big in
This? is
a must read for late middle school students. Readers will discover that Amal’s
struggles with self-acceptance and confidence are very similar to the struggles
that occur in their everyday life, regardless of their religious and cultural
background.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
- Black-Eyed Susan Book Award - Nominated 2009
- Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominated 2010
- Australian Book of the Year for Older Children - Won 2006
- Children's Book Council Notable Book of the Year - 2006
- UK Galaxy Book Awards - Long listed 2006
- Grampian Children's Book Awards - Short listed 2006
Review from Booklist: "The first-person present-tense narrative is hilarious about the diversity, and sometimes heartbreaking...Without heavy preaching, the issues of faith and culture are part of the story, from fasting at Ramadan to refusing sex before marriage. More than the usual story of the immigrant teen's conflict with her traditional parents, the funny, touching contemporary narrative will grab teens everywhere."
Review from Asian Express: "Amal’s funny and passionate story about her journey through adolescence is a universal subject that readers of all ages and religions can relate to."
Review
from Telegraph (UK): "Eye-opening…funny and positive. A book
about defiance, determination, intelligence and self-respect."
Review from Books For Keeps: “It’s funny, it’s foolish, it’s serious, it takes up real issues, it tells a story and it strikes a chord. What more can you want of any book?"
5. CONNECTIONS
*Other books by Randa Abdel-Fattah:
Where the Streets Had a Name. ISBN 978-0545172929
The Friendship Matchmaker. ISBN 978-0802734761
Ten Things I Hate About Me. ISBN 978-0545050562
*Other chapter books with young, Arab characters:
Budhos, Marina. Ask Me No Questions. ISBN 978-1416949206
Barakat, Ibtisam. Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood. ISBN 978-0374357337
Nye, Naomi Shihab. Habibi. ISBN 978-0689825231
*Randa Abdel-Fattah's Website