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maviya's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
thrakaboom's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
amishi1712's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of my most favourite books now. Having always been interested in knowing about the world of burqas and hijaab, I have read about it from adult women’s perspectives. However, I have not read about it from a teenager’s perspective and this book helped me do that. I also love the way it’s written - the sassiness in the language is hilarious!
ama_reads's review against another edition
2.0
This is another quick read. I finished it within 2 days of starting.
It is 2002, and Amal is the only Muslim at her private prep school in Australia. She is a fairly new student, as her previous school – a private Islamic school – only went to 10th grade. While watching a Friends episode during a break from school, she has an epiphany. She decides to wear a hijab (headscarf). It isn’t the first time she has worn it, but unlike before, this is her decision, not part of her school uniform. She faces opposition from family, from school officials and from classmates. She also receives encouragement from members of the same groups.
Not only does Amal struggle with the effects of wearing the hijab, but she also is challenged with a crush (she doesn’t believe in dating or kissing before marriage), school bullies/racists, friendships, and other typical teenage events.
Overall, it was an OK book. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I did feel that it was a little to candy coated at times, and at others a little too preachy. Some of the conversations between Amal and her friends read as lessons on Islam and what it means to be Muslim. They just didn’t flow as a conversation between friends normally would. I was a little thrown by some of the references in the book, as I didn’t think of them as Australian things (“stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey”) or because the American version is different. An example of the latter – Amal states that a large body of water looked like a pool of lemonade. As I’ve recently learned (thanks to my sister’s trip to Oz and talking with a friend who lives there), lemonade in the US (yellow drink made of lemons, water and sugar) is different than lemonade in Australia (think Sprite). So, Amal’s vision of a pool of lemonade was a crystal and sparkling lake, and mine was of a lake filled with urine. Yeah…I think that was a bit lost in “translation”
Would I recommend this book? Eh, maybe. If someone was looking for a book with a strong Muslim female as the main character, then yes, as there is a short supply of such material for any age group. Just for something to read, I would probably suggest something else. Although I learned more about being a Muslim teen than I already knew, the entertainment value was missing from this book.
It is 2002, and Amal is the only Muslim at her private prep school in Australia. She is a fairly new student, as her previous school – a private Islamic school – only went to 10th grade. While watching a Friends episode during a break from school, she has an epiphany. She decides to wear a hijab (headscarf). It isn’t the first time she has worn it, but unlike before, this is her decision, not part of her school uniform. She faces opposition from family, from school officials and from classmates. She also receives encouragement from members of the same groups.
Not only does Amal struggle with the effects of wearing the hijab, but she also is challenged with a crush (she doesn’t believe in dating or kissing before marriage), school bullies/racists, friendships, and other typical teenage events.
Overall, it was an OK book. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I did feel that it was a little to candy coated at times, and at others a little too preachy. Some of the conversations between Amal and her friends read as lessons on Islam and what it means to be Muslim. They just didn’t flow as a conversation between friends normally would. I was a little thrown by some of the references in the book, as I didn’t think of them as Australian things (“stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey”) or because the American version is different. An example of the latter – Amal states that a large body of water looked like a pool of lemonade. As I’ve recently learned (thanks to my sister’s trip to Oz and talking with a friend who lives there), lemonade in the US (yellow drink made of lemons, water and sugar) is different than lemonade in Australia (think Sprite). So, Amal’s vision of a pool of lemonade was a crystal and sparkling lake, and mine was of a lake filled with urine. Yeah…I think that was a bit lost in “translation”
Would I recommend this book? Eh, maybe. If someone was looking for a book with a strong Muslim female as the main character, then yes, as there is a short supply of such material for any age group. Just for something to read, I would probably suggest something else. Although I learned more about being a Muslim teen than I already knew, the entertainment value was missing from this book.
collkay10's review against another edition
1.0
This was a quick read, and it’s important to have this story shared because we don’t often hear from a young female Muslim protagonist. However, I felt like so much of this novel was so stereotypical. I was bothered by the stereotypes portrayed of teens, Muslims, Christians, parent/child roles, etc.
iqra_iftikhar's review against another edition
3.0
Nothing interesting for me here but it will be a good read for anybody who wants to know the struggles people have to go through just to fulfill their faith. This is a coming of age story about a regular teenager who decides to start observing hijab and then has to deal with the consequences of that in a world where every kind of religious symbol is considered a little extreme.
kricketa's review against another edition
2.0
update, june 2017:
i read and reviewed this book ten years ago. please keep that in mind if you choose to comment. i'm not interested in discussing it now because i don't really remember it. thanks!
original review, september 2007:
Amal decides, completely on her own and without pressure from her (also Muslim) parents, to wear a headscarf (hijab) "full-time." Why? She wants to make a statement of her faith, and it makes her feel close to God as well as brave, especially at her prep school where she is the only Muslim. She also points out what a relief it is not to have to worry about people judging her body and worrying about her hair (but she encounters frequent judging of the hijab itself, and frequently spends as much time arranging it as she did her hair.)
My biggest problem was the preachiness. Instead of letting the story unfold naturally, the author adds numerous fake-feeling situations in which Amal defends her faith. I could list many, but the absolute cheesiest is when Amal is on a bus and the bus driver clearly hates her and her hijab. He turns up a radio show conveniently discussing "violent, terrible Muslims" until a kindly old woman next to Amal makes him turn it down. She then tells Amal about how she used to work with Muslim women and how she loved their hijabs and food. The scene was sappy and contrived, with crap dialogue to boot, and unfortunately the book is full of these.
Second biggest problem? Although the author clearly wrote this book partially for those who don't know a lot about Islam (has Amal explaining some basics of prayer and holidays to her non-Muslim friends, etc) she never gets into the meat of the hijab issue. Namely, WHY the headscarf is the chosen symbol of faith. Where does it come from? What's the history here? Or why, for example, Muslim women wear their symbol of faith on their heads, and not Muslim men. The narrator does make a reference to "hard-core feminists who don't get that this is me exercising my right to choose" but she never really explains WHY she made her decision, except that she just felt ready.
In summary, (in case you want to skip all of my above ranting) Abdel-Fattah spends too much time defending Islam to the obviously ignorant characters in the book, and not enough time explaining the faith of Muslims to her very intelligent readers who want to know.
Oh, if you have any recommendations for quality teen lit about Islam, PLEASE let me know!!
i read and reviewed this book ten years ago. please keep that in mind if you choose to comment. i'm not interested in discussing it now because i don't really remember it. thanks!
original review, september 2007:
Amal decides, completely on her own and without pressure from her (also Muslim) parents, to wear a headscarf (hijab) "full-time." Why? She wants to make a statement of her faith, and it makes her feel close to God as well as brave, especially at her prep school where she is the only Muslim. She also points out what a relief it is not to have to worry about people judging her body and worrying about her hair (but she encounters frequent judging of the hijab itself, and frequently spends as much time arranging it as she did her hair.)
My biggest problem was the preachiness. Instead of letting the story unfold naturally, the author adds numerous fake-feeling situations in which Amal defends her faith. I could list many, but the absolute cheesiest is when Amal is on a bus and the bus driver clearly hates her and her hijab. He turns up a radio show conveniently discussing "violent, terrible Muslims" until a kindly old woman next to Amal makes him turn it down. She then tells Amal about how she used to work with Muslim women and how she loved their hijabs and food. The scene was sappy and contrived, with crap dialogue to boot, and unfortunately the book is full of these.
Second biggest problem? Although the author clearly wrote this book partially for those who don't know a lot about Islam (has Amal explaining some basics of prayer and holidays to her non-Muslim friends, etc) she never gets into the meat of the hijab issue. Namely, WHY the headscarf is the chosen symbol of faith. Where does it come from? What's the history here? Or why, for example, Muslim women wear their symbol of faith on their heads, and not Muslim men. The narrator does make a reference to "hard-core feminists who don't get that this is me exercising my right to choose" but she never really explains WHY she made her decision, except that she just felt ready.
In summary, (in case you want to skip all of my above ranting) Abdel-Fattah spends too much time defending Islam to the obviously ignorant characters in the book, and not enough time explaining the faith of Muslims to her very intelligent readers who want to know.
Oh, if you have any recommendations for quality teen lit about Islam, PLEASE let me know!!
lindseysheataylor's review against another edition
4.0
I read this in a college class that is strictly YA books. Although this is something I would have never picked up on my own and it’s for an age group younger than me, I actually enjoyed it a lot! This book is great for teaching representation to middle school students. It not only has religious matters that are brought up, but other issues like eating disorders. What I love best about it is that the languages is great for middle schoolers. This is definitely a book that I am going to put in my classroom library:)
atlasgray's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mordecai's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0