Customer Reviews

Does My Head Look Big in This? [With Headphones] (Playaway Young Adult)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Putting on hijab isn't the end of the journey. It's just the beginning of it," Amal, the narrator, says in the book. This brief statement summarizes the powerful lesson of this compelling, funny novel.

The novel begins as Amal is watching a Friends rerun and is inspired to wear hijab (the Muslim head scarf) when she sees Jennifer Aniston's carefree character get up and dance in a "hideous bridesmaid outfit" at her ex-boyfriend's wedding. This comical, worldy inspiration sets the stage for Amal's third term rollercoaster ride as an eleventh grader in a private, prestigious "institution" (as the principal Ms. Walsh like to call it).

Having gone to Muslim school up until the year before, Amal's decision to cover in hijab will prove a huge test of faith for her, especially since she spent first and second term at the school appearing normal...except for her long name: "Amal Mohamed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim". (She says, "You can thank my father, paternal grandfather, and paternal great-grandfather for that one. The teachers labeled me slow in preschool because I was the last child to learn how to spell her name).

As I read, I laughed out loud and shook my head in recognition of how it feels to grow up Muslim in the West, especially as a teenager in school. The book is authentic in its representation of that experience, the ups and downs, the stereotypes, the harassment, and (ah!) the "good souls" that make you smile because they prove that there really are people (however rare they are) who are actually guided by good human sense when dealing with Muslim citizens, instead of CNN headlines on "Islamic" terrorists and the like.

Amal has to deal with normal teenage struggles, school, friends, and even a crush on a fellow classmate Adam, who seems to adore her too. Her relationship with her two Muslim friends brings to light scores of issues that Muslims battle everyday--in their homes and the world--in terms of stereotypes and drawing the line between Islam and culture.

The writing is witty, smooth, and enjoyable. I couldn't put it down once I picked it up. For the writing alone, the book deserves five stars.

I have but one reservation about the book, especially for Muslim readers looking for some inspiration as they seek solace in Western society, despite tons of setbacks:

Despite its obvious Islamic theme (the hijab), the book is definitely not a morale booster in the spiritual sense. As one reviewer commented, the central issues were cliche and stereotypical, but, most significantly, lots of them are not representative of the lifestyle of thousands of practicing Muslim youth living in the West.

Probably the most glaring contradiction is that the hijab is the central focus in the book but the narrator (and apparently the author) repeatedly wants Westerners to see it as "merely a piece of cloth" and not a significant spiritual statement that represents an Islamic lifestyle. This is like saying a Christian wants others to see the cross as merely two pieces of wood (or metal) hammered into the shape of a lowercase "t".

What's more is that the entire purpose of the hijab is completely lost in the book, that of covering one's beauty, as instructed in the Qur'an. Repeatedly, Amal does all she can to accentuate her lips, eyes, and face to make herself appealing, particularly for her "mad crush" Adam. She doesn't lower her gaze, displays no sense of modesty, and is completely at ease in male company, stopping short only of kissing or sleeping with him. This I couldn't relate to, and in fact it left me confused, wondering if the author was going a bit overboard to drum the "We're just like you!" mantra to non-Muslim readers.

Also, although the book was very authentic to the experiences of many Muslim youth, it is grossly inauthentic to hosts of others, especially those who can actually relate to Amal. In most cases, the Amals of the world do not come out as unscathed and "pure" as this narrator does, and in that way the experiences with her "mad crush" Adam bordered more on idealistic than realistic.

Nevertheless, as a novel, it is an excellent read. But if you're looking for a taste of the Muslim youth lifestyle in the West, this book is only scratching the surface and barely so, except for the obvious debunking of stereotypes of Muslims in the media. For the Muslim reader looking for an "emaan lifter", look elsewhere. You're more likely to want to go out on a date, watch Friends, dress like Jessica Simpson, and blast your music than to be inspired to say a single prayer or want to crack the Qur'an open.

Randa Abdel-Fattah is an Australian and Muslim writer and her book Does My Head Look Big In This? is the story of a teenage girl Amal who chooses to wear the hijab. The book deals quite well with three larger social themes, one specifically is about choice in religion and one example of what it's like for a Muslim girl in a westernized society. The other larger social theme, which was quite well done regards identity, how we see ourselves, with a specific nod to dislodging the beauty myth. And finally, a critique of the sexual pressures placed on young girls to have sex.

At the same time, I did struggle with some ideas in the book. Early on, Abdel-Fattah knocks at feminism, which is rather well deserved in the sense of "hard-core feminists" (her words, not mine) making an issue out of wearing the hajib when choice is involved. Point taken, but this isn't so much a feminist stance as much as western perceptions and xenophobia pertaining specifically to women of eastern cultures or cultural descent. Additionally, she also ensures a knock at atheism. This sort of misrepresentation (or misinterpretation) carries through the book in not identifying social issues as the problem. After all, in a book that deals with the problematic scenarios of misrepresenting and misinterpreting Islam - well, pot kettle black.

Likewise, every page was detailed by a mass consumer mindset of shopping and buying and consuming. I did start to find this problematic and particularly as the book completely fails to escape the female young adult novel entrenched idea of female competition. Because, you know, a young adult novel can't exist without two girls verbally (if not physically) abusing each other.

Overall it was an enjoyable read (spiced up with the usual young adult fair of crushes and family issues) and one I would recommend with some reservations. The social issue critique and discussion are brilliant, but my hope of finding a novel for young women to read that resists the plague of negative young adult diatribe was not found in this book.

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

This book is beautifully written and made me laugh out loud more times than I can count. I'm not a "young adult" nor do I generarlly read "young adult" books, but this book blew me away. Call it what you want--it's good writing, ten times better than most "old adult" (yes, I made up a genre) books I've read. I would recommend it to anyone--old or young, Muslim or not, male or female. I absolutely loved it!

This book offers a timely look at the life of a Muslim teen struggling to live her life according to her religion while she is surrounded by prejudice and ignorance. Luckily, the author peppers the book with humor, so it never gets too depressing or heavy-handed.

While I thought this book was cute and a very good effort by a first-time novelist, there were a couple issues. The dialogue wasn't always as realistic as it could have been, and some characters seemed created solely to give the author an opportunity to present the reader with another issue facing Muslims. While the latter could occassionally cause the book to come across as a tad preachy, overall, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone interested in a different perspective on current affairs. I think this author's future novels will be even better, and I look forward to seeing more from her.

Oh...I loved this book. I absolutely loved this book. It was on a topic that needed to be written about, at least in the YA genre, for quite a long time and I am so glad that it was this brand-spankin' new author that decided to take on the task.

In Does My Head Look Big in This, by Australian author Randa Abdel-Fatthah, Amal, a typical 11th grade girl, is struggling with a very personal decision. Being a Muslim of strong faith, Amal wants to wear her hajib head covering all the time. No, her parents are not forcing her, in fact, they are almost wary of her doing so, this is completely Amal's choice. When she does decide to go forth with her plan to wear the hajib everywhere, except in the company of family, she knows she is setting herself up for prejudice. The headmaster at her private school is not too keen on Amal messing up the uniform system with the hajib, Tia, a snotty girl in Amal's class is set on making her feel like a loser, and Adam, the one boy Amal has had a crush on, seems to like her back, but also is somewhat uncomfortable with the whole religion thing.

Amal stands by the decision she made to wear her faith, quite literally, on her body. She stands up to people that scorn her and when upset, only lets it show to her closest friends and family. This is an incredibly powerful book that is perfect for teens, no matter what they believe in terms of religion. The strength of Amal is beautiful and she is a great role model for teenage girls, struggling to stand up for themselves in a world of peer pressure and designer clothing trends.

This is one of the best teen novels I have read this year and definitely look forward to more works by this author. The character of Amal is exactly who I wish I could have been in high school. I was able to stand up for myself to some extent, but I cared way too much what others thought about my appearance and my personality. I would certainly recommend this book be read by adults and teens everywhere.

The premise was of the book was good and it was interesting to read the point of view of a Muslim good who is traditional in regards to her faith but supportive of the more modern norms for her friends. The only thing hard to relate to was that it really sounded like an adult point of view. I applaud the main character for making her own choices throughout the book but find it hard to believe that a teenager raised in Australia in normal public schools with Non-Muslims wouldn't even have the slightest temptation or fall from grace within her religion while she was exploring her identity and self. It seemed a real stretch the way the character comes off as a Muslim Saint bringing together her Non-Muslim and Muslim friends, refusing to ever even once compromise her religious convictions and strict cultural morals. I don't think even an adult woman with her background would have been able to pull it off.

First off, the manner in which this book was written is fun and doesn't bore you. it's 1st person narrative by the 16 year old Amal who decides to wear a hijab helps the reader to connect with her.

However, I feel as if this book does not represent the meaning of wearing the hijab correctly. In some parts of the book, Amal tries to look appealing to her crush by wearing lipstick, mascara etc.. The meaning of wearing the hijab is to not attract attention and to be modest in appearance. I felt that this book and character did not do justice to the meaning of the hijab.

Furthermore, I had a friend read this and her response to the book was that she had hoped Amal and her crush to end up together. This shows that, all in all, the book misses the vital point! When wearing the hijab, you must not only cover your hair but also act modest and stay within the lines of the Islamic rules.

All in all, this is still a good book since there aren't much books that cover topics like this yet I do wish that some parts should have been revised for they will only confuse those that are either seeking to learn about Islam or those that already practice Islam.

Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah, is a young adult novel that captures the awkwardness, confusion, and triumph of teenage years through the eyes of Amal, a girl in Australia who decides to don a hijab for the first time. As a high school student at a prestigious private school, Amal faces some criticism from the school principal and from her peers, but she learns to develop her own voice to counter people's pejorative remarks. The book is funny, honest, and pleasant to read and would be a great text for students to recommend to students.

Throughout the book, Amal strives to determine and define her identity. As a young, Muslim teenage Palestinian-Australian girl, Amal straddles many different identity groups. Each group comes with different ever-changing boundaries and territories that are modeled by the different characters in the book. Within her own family, she finds various views and beliefs about religion and culture. While her mother wears a hijab, she is initially hesitant when Amal announces her decision to wear the hijab herself, telling her daughter that things are different for her. Her Palestinian-born relatives actively embrace Australian culture, dying their hair blonde and adopting Australian accents.

Amal also has two groups of friends. Her two best friends from her private school represent different aspects of teenage life and femininity. Her two friends from her previous school illustrate different interpretations of how to blend Muslim traditions with Australian culture. At school, her friends help her battle the "mean girls," who attempt to assert their superiority through insults about Amal's culture by critiquing her looks and associating with her "terrorists." At home, her friends help her negotiate the complexities of blending old world traditions with new world society.

One of the strengths of the book is that it is relatable to students. The conflicts and struggles that Amal faces apply to many young people. For example, Amal struggles with the fact that she has a crush on Adam, a boy at school, but she believes that it is important to adhere to the religious custom of not dating before marrying. While not all students have the same background, the theme of balancing one's beliefs with peer expectations can appeal to most young people.

A potential drawback of the book is the contradiction of Amal's character. While she struggles to create her identity throughout the book, the conclusion of the book (which I won't give away!) seemed to wrap up seemingly complicated issues in too neat of a package. At the end of the book, I was left feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

Overall, for teachers and students, this would be a great book for students to have access to. In the classroom, this book could be used for a teaching tolerance unit. The book gives students insight into life in Australia, the life of a Muslim girl. Amal, as she matures, learns to react to people's comments and misunderstandings with a tolerant, empathetic viewpoint. The book can also serve as a resource for students who might be dealing with the same issues as Amal. Whether the book is read by the whole class, or on the bookshelf of teachers, I can see many students benefiting from accessing this text.

In a charmingly descriptive chain of thought, Australian-Palestinian Amal decides to wear the Muslim scarf, the hijab, after watching Rachel from Friends singing "Copacabana" in "a hideous bridesmaid's outfit at her ex's wedding". It's the kind of intuitive moment we've all had, and the fact that Amal hinges such a major life decision on it gives her immediate plausible humanity.

We've always wanted to know what it's really like, the life of the visible minorities. John Howard Griffin classic, "Black Like Me", where the other darkens his skin and travels through pre-civil rights America and Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed", where the author tries to live on minimum wage jobs are examples. Perhaps one of the strengths of "Does My Head" is that really not much does happen after Amal dons her hijab. This book does not deal with heady issues, nor does it take place in war torn Afghanistan. Amal's father and mother are wealthy professionals, she goes to a prestigious private school and her big problems are passing Australia's comp and getting caught passing notes in school.

The significance of this book is how the wearing of her hijab affects each one of her relationships, her relationship with her parents, with her traditional uncle and her aunt, with her nontraditional uncle and aunt, with her Muslim girlfriends, with her non Muslim girlfriends, with sympathetic school friends, with antagonistic ones, with school faculty, and even with casual strangers. The honesty of Amal's voice and the complexity of all these relationships is where the success of Randa Abdel-Fattah's story lies.