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A review by joana_stormblessed
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
4.0
What is it about?
Does My Head Look Big In This follows a Muslim-Australian teenager who decides, during her summer break, to wear the hijab full-time. This is not a simple decision as she is scared of the repercussions that this decision will have on her life. Not only is she scared of the looks that she will receive, but she also attends a school for elite students where there are no other veiled girls.
As Amal sticks to her decision, she finds the support of her parents, even though they are also nervous about this choice, and her best friends. However, the school administration doesn't see it that way and neither do the other students at her school. In fact, most people think that Amal is wearing the hijab because her parents forced it on her and they assume that she is an oppressed woman.
The book follows Amal as she defends her beliefs and as she figures out that wearing the hijab isn't enough. Being "religious" is more than just outward symbols of faith. She also deals with people assuming that she is a terrorist, or that she has the same beliefs, because she is Muslim. In this story, Amal teaches her ent0urage that it isn't like that. She also has to step up when a boy she has a crush on has one back and she cannot follow her "desires" because she wants to be faithful to her beliefs.
This book is about discovering who you are and to step up to defend what you believe in. It is also about friends and family and crushes and life in general.
What I thought:
I really enjoyed this book a whole lot. I listened to it on audiobook and I thought that the narrator was great and I really liked the experience of it. I liked the story and the characters. If you know me, you know that I read for the characters, even if there is no major "plot" driving the story.
That is why this book worked for me. I loved seeing Amal discover what it means to be a Muslim for herself and how those decisions she made, to truly live her faith, impacted her whole life. How she really strove to be a better person. I liked seeing her grow and yet she had her flaws of impatient teenager, which makes sense, because it is what she is! I really enjoyed the diversity in this book and I really liked seeing how two Muslim families can interpret Islam completely differently (which is the same for Christianity, I know. But we do tend to assume that "all Muslims" interpret the teachings the same way).
I gave the book 4 stars because there was still something missing for me. I don't know what it is, but it didn't quite make it to the 5 stars. Nonetheless very much enjoyable.
Does My Head Look Big In This follows a Muslim-Australian teenager who decides, during her summer break, to wear the hijab full-time. This is not a simple decision as she is scared of the repercussions that this decision will have on her life. Not only is she scared of the looks that she will receive, but she also attends a school for elite students where there are no other veiled girls.
As Amal sticks to her decision, she finds the support of her parents, even though they are also nervous about this choice, and her best friends. However, the school administration doesn't see it that way and neither do the other students at her school. In fact, most people think that Amal is wearing the hijab because her parents forced it on her and they assume that she is an oppressed woman.
The book follows Amal as she defends her beliefs and as she figures out that wearing the hijab isn't enough. Being "religious" is more than just outward symbols of faith. She also deals with people assuming that she is a terrorist, or that she has the same beliefs, because she is Muslim. In this story, Amal teaches her ent0urage that it isn't like that. She also has to step up when a boy she has a crush on has one back and she cannot follow her "desires" because she wants to be faithful to her beliefs.
This book is about discovering who you are and to step up to defend what you believe in. It is also about friends and family and crushes and life in general.
What I thought:
I really enjoyed this book a whole lot. I listened to it on audiobook and I thought that the narrator was great and I really liked the experience of it. I liked the story and the characters. If you know me, you know that I read for the characters, even if there is no major "plot" driving the story.
That is why this book worked for me. I loved seeing Amal discover what it means to be a Muslim for herself and how those decisions she made, to truly live her faith, impacted her whole life. How she really strove to be a better person. I liked seeing her grow and yet she had her flaws of impatient teenager, which makes sense, because it is what she is! I really enjoyed the diversity in this book and I really liked seeing how two Muslim families can interpret Islam completely differently (which is the same for Christianity, I know. But we do tend to assume that "all Muslims" interpret the teachings the same way).
I gave the book 4 stars because there was still something missing for me. I don't know what it is, but it didn't quite make it to the 5 stars. Nonetheless very much enjoyable.