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Does My Head Look Big In This? Randa AbdelFattah Books

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Does My Head Look Big In This? Randa AbdelFattah Books

I read this book for a reading challenge and found it absolutely delightful. The teenage voice was just sassy and sarcastic enough to be hilarious. The main character dealt with many issues, not just her faith and decision to wear hijab full time. Through it all, she learned a lot about herself. I admire her being woman enough to not only stand up for her faith, but also for her friends and convictions, but most of all to admit to herself and others when she's wrong. This is why reading challenges are good. Ordinarily I would not likely choose a young adult novel about a Muslim teen. I am so glad I did. Although my faith is different and my age is three times Amal's and then some, there is a lot I can learn from her character. Well done!


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Does My Head Look Big In This? Randa AbdelFattah Books Reviews

My son (14) read this over the summer, it was on his reading list, he enjoyed it very much. I skimmed through it, thought it was nicely realistic and the author did a great job handling the variety of issues faced by Muslims in non-Muslim countries (the main character lives in Australia).
This is an engaging YA novel, particularly for girls. While the content is particularly powerful for Muslims, the identity issues the narrator struggles with are universally relatable. The novel gives the reader perspective on faith and identity, as well as being a member of a minority in a majority culture. This is all done with great humor.
Fun, easy read with a light take on Hijabi issues, but deep enough to make you see the struggle that Hijabis go through. It is often the inner turmoil and choice that is harder to deal with than external critique. The books highlights what a personal choice wearing the Hijab is.

It was interesting to see the teen perspective - this Hijabi has just one more thing to deal with, on top of school, friends, boys and nagging parents.
This was a great story. I hesitate to say a coming of age story, but it was. Not just about Amal's growth but everyone around her, even the adults.
I'm a 30 year old convert to Islam, although I've become completely confident in my Islamic attire... I have 2 daughters who are becoming of age where they must pray, cover etc.. And I think this book will boost their cconfidence in doing what is expected of them as Muslim girls. I find this story so intriguing but I can't understand why her parents were stand offish about her wearing the veil.. I would be stoked! So cares what ppl think! Wear your veils proudly ladies, your beautiful!
I LOVED this book. It's a YA fiction novel about female empowerment, cultural & religious acceptance, and a wonderful depiction of how the hijab is viewed by many Muslim woman as a tool for self-expression and independence that empowers them in many, many ways. It's a beautiful (and funny) telling of how a young adolescent Muslim girl fights her oppression and the bigotry that she's faced with by standing up for what she believes in. The writing is also really good, albiet a little too teenagery at times, and the book has wonderful about self-identity and self-respect, messages that I think are important for any teen girl, no matter what their cultural or religious background.
Contemporary Young Adult fiction has developed a greater sense of sophistication and maturity in its approach to a wide range of issues that concern adolescents in meaningful ways—race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, violence, domestic abuse, and sexual abuse (among other themes) are examined sensitively and plausibly in any number of well written works of Young Adult literature. The topic of religion, however, consistently challenges writers of YA fiction. I’ve yet to come across a novel that features religion and faith as integral narrative elements and issues that profoundly affect characters in ways that compel them to develop and think independently. *Does My Head Look Big in This?* comes pretty close but falls somewhat short.

The novel focuses on Amal, a high school junior living in Australia. At the start of the final term of the school year, Amal decides to begin wearing the hijab full-time as an expression of her Islamic faith. The novel follows her through some quite typical high school experiences—she and her friends develop crushes on boys, contend with bullying “mean girls,” deal with body image issues, worry about upcoming exams, and cope with overbearing/controlling/unsympathetic/embarrassing parents. Amal has a fairly diverse group of friends—some are Islamic, some are Jewish, some are Palestinian-Australians (like Amal), others hail from other parts of the world, including Mrs. Vaselli, Amal’s elderly Greek-Australian neighbor who reluctantly befriends Amal. Throughout all of these encounters and the rest of the minor conflicts that arise throughout the course of the plot, Amal’s decision to wear the hijab—which seems to be the driving force behind the novel’s primary conflict—increasingly fades into the background. Until the latter portion of the novel, when Amal’s friend Leila runs away from home because of her mother’s strict opposition to her desire for education and independence.

Ultimately, Amal’s assertion of her faith creates few problems for her. It does, however, provide her with an enlightened perspective on the actions of others. It seems as though once Amal has resolved her feelings about her own faith and becomes comfortable with her decision (she even rejects a mere kiss from Adam, her crush, and explains that any form of intimacy is forbidden before marriage)—only then can she develop insight and understand the beliefs and action of others, particularly Mrs. Vaselli and Leila.

Although the novel is rather lighthearted and avoids serious drama, it sends a powerful albeit tangential message about faith in oneself and the value of empathy.
I read this book for a reading challenge and found it absolutely delightful. The teenage voice was just sassy and sarcastic enough to be hilarious. The main character dealt with many issues, not just her faith and decision to wear hijab full time. Through it all, she learned a lot about herself. I admire her being woman enough to not only stand up for her faith, but also for her friends and convictions, but most of all to admit to herself and others when she's wrong. This is why reading challenges are good. Ordinarily I would not likely choose a young adult novel about a Muslim teen. I am so glad I did. Although my faith is different and my age is three times Amal's and then some, there is a lot I can learn from her character. Well done!