A review by c3rem0nials
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

this used to be my favorite book as a kid, and i think for obvious reasons - the writing is easily digestible, fairly easy to follow (though very meandery in nature, there is no real plot to follow and is at times a character study). set in the primetime of the y2k era, as expected there are a lot of issues that are/were considered acceptable to say (ie amal and her friends tendency to be SO internally misogynistic, the casual fatphobia perpetuated by a lot of the characters, and more)... while the book succeeds in i suppose what would be trying to make muslims more complex, it also ends up making everyone a caricature. its a disservice to the diversity of personalities and people that identify as muslims in the book. also didn't understand why amal constantly feels like there is no larger muslim community beyond her family. i deeply empathise with her immediate social situations like school, but it was so reductive and insular in perspective. i guess it was intentional with her being a teenager but this girl clearly does not know other muslims besides her family and her old religious school. randa abdel fattah is a fairly entertaining writer, but i guess if you're into flawed characters and non linear stories this novel would be it.