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Product Description
Product Description
Don't panic - I'm Islamic| Amal is a 16-year-old Melbourne teen with all the usual obsessions about boys, chocolate and Cosmo magazine. She's also a Muslim, struggling to honour the Islamic faith in a society that doesn' understand it. The story of her decision to "shawl up" and itsttendent anxieties (like how much eyeliner to wear) is funny, surprising and touching by turns.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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!
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
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!
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book is absolutely hilarious ... remarkably well written, couldn't put it down and read it within a day.
The characters are so well developed, despite the fact that they range from 16-year old Muslim-Australian teenager to 70-something Greek Orthodox neighbour to a secular Jewish high school boy.
Most importantly, the book allows the reader that rare glance into Muslim minds, on such a personal level ...a must read for anyone who wants to go beyond media coverage and really understand a minority that has been under the spotlight in recent years.
I'm just thinking of ordering it again ... ;)there's always a birthday around.
The characters are so well developed, despite the fact that they range from 16-year old Muslim-Australian teenager to 70-something Greek Orthodox neighbour to a secular Jewish high school boy.
Most importantly, the book allows the reader that rare glance into Muslim minds, on such a personal level ...a must read for anyone who wants to go beyond media coverage and really understand a minority that has been under the spotlight in recent years.
I'm just thinking of ordering it again ... ;)there's always a birthday around.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read a review for this book somewhere slating it as "Unislamic", I don't agree with that, I do not think it is unislamic at all. Amal is a sixteen year old teenage girl, she is going through all the "normal" things that a sixteen year old would go through, but it's how she deals with these things that make the book interesting. Yes she does have a crush on the cutest guy in school, but she does not act on these desires. She learns a lot during the chourse of this book, and any girl/young woman who is living in a Western country will be able to relate to her character. Of course she isn't a perfect Muslim girl, she does make some bad choices BUT you have to bear in mind she's only sixteen, and one can only learn from their mistakes. I would recommend this book to all teenage sisters. It also would help non-muslims to understand certain misconceptions made about Muslims, i.e. We're not terrorists!
I think this book is for the younger reader though, I'm twenty years old, and this is not the type of book I usually read, but nevertheless, I'm glad I read it. I only wish this book was written 5-6 years earlier.
I think this book is for the younger reader though, I'm twenty years old, and this is not the type of book I usually read, but nevertheless, I'm glad I read it. I only wish this book was written 5-6 years earlier.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not bad at all
As the book cover suggests this is about a young Muslim Australian of Palestinian descent who decides to wear the hijab (A scalf worn by Muslim women that covers the hair) While... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Gogol
Cannot say enough good things about this book
I randomly picked up this book from a 'staff recommendation' shelf at the bookshop and I am SO glad I did. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jessica
great title!
I bought this book as part of a friend's birthday present.. needless to say, the blurb and many reviews on amazon ensure that I will be buying myself a copy in future! Read more
Published 13 months ago by F
A laugh out loud book
I really enjoyed reading this book...apart from being very well-written, it made you laugh at the wit of the main character, cry in frustration at the stupidity of others, and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by F. Z. Mohammed
Good read.
I ended up growing to like this book. It is a good read, but for the younger readers. It is quite humourous, but I sometimes felt over-exagerated??
Published 23 months ago by Ms. N. N. Rahman
Brilliant!!!!
This book is sssssssssssssssssssooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good and funny! you can totally get yourself into the charecter! Brilliant!
Published 23 months ago by Tiger
Funny teenage book
When I bought this book I thought it would be a really nice quirky story of a Muslim girl wearing Hijab.
And I was right! Read more
And I was right! Read more
Published on 18 May 2010 by Mrs AA
Funny, thoughtful and bittersweet
Does My Head Look Big In This? is chicklit to make you think. It's the story of an ordinary sixteen year old girl finding the courage to live according to her beliefs, despite the... Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2010 by L
Needed to be written but lacking
I was looking forward to this book and actually bought it despite the fact that I rarely buy books but prefer to get them from the library. The cover was nice as was the title. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2010 by Mr Bean
LOVED IT
I wish Randa had written this book 15 years ago when I was a teenager! It is a proper teenage girl book, but one which I could relate to as a muslim woman. Read more
Published on 30 April 2009 by Loolsi
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