Abdel-Fattah, Randa - Does My Head Look Big in This?
Sat, Jan. 5th, 2008 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterAmal has just decided to wear the hijab full-time. She used to go to an Islamic high school, but now she's in a trendy prep school, and she doesn't know what people's reactions will be, much less how her crush Adam will react.
This is a really cute and snappy book about faith, fashion, friendship, and... I can't think of another word starting with "f." I like how it stays with the voice and tropes of YA books for girls; it's breezy and slangy, and I love Amal's flightiness and her seriousness. I also like how the author explores the many different dimensions of being Muslim in Australia; Amal's got her way, but she's a part of a community, so you know she doesn't represent All Muslims or even All Muslim Teenage Girls.
That said, Abdel-Fattah tries too hard sometimes, which makes the book somewhat anvilicious at times. I could have used with a few less protestations that there is no one single way to practice Islam, or that all Muslims are not terrorists, or how wearing the hijab is not anti-feminist, particularly when Amal's arguing with Adam. I think the book would have been much better had the author stuck with showing those points instead of lecturing, although I get her impulse to do so.
That said, this is still really fun to read. I laughed out loud during a lot of the book, and while some of the obstacles feel too easily resolved, I very much liked Amal and her conviction and her very steady sense of herself. I also just love getting books about girls of color that get to be fun and breezy and YA chicklit-ish without the angst, like Melissa de la Cruz's Fresh Off the Boat. Amal's background is extremely important to her, but so are things like arranging her scarf so it frames her face just so, her friends' love lives, and all the minutiae that make up a teenager's life.
I also liked how Abdel-Fattah made an effort to make Amal's social circle multi-racial and multi-cultural; it was mostly just in the background.
Recommended despite the occasional clumsiness, and I'm looking forward to what Abdel-Fattah writes next.
Links:
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shewhohashope's review
This is a really cute and snappy book about faith, fashion, friendship, and... I can't think of another word starting with "f." I like how it stays with the voice and tropes of YA books for girls; it's breezy and slangy, and I love Amal's flightiness and her seriousness. I also like how the author explores the many different dimensions of being Muslim in Australia; Amal's got her way, but she's a part of a community, so you know she doesn't represent All Muslims or even All Muslim Teenage Girls.
That said, Abdel-Fattah tries too hard sometimes, which makes the book somewhat anvilicious at times. I could have used with a few less protestations that there is no one single way to practice Islam, or that all Muslims are not terrorists, or how wearing the hijab is not anti-feminist, particularly when Amal's arguing with Adam. I think the book would have been much better had the author stuck with showing those points instead of lecturing, although I get her impulse to do so.
That said, this is still really fun to read. I laughed out loud during a lot of the book, and while some of the obstacles feel too easily resolved, I very much liked Amal and her conviction and her very steady sense of herself. I also just love getting books about girls of color that get to be fun and breezy and YA chicklit-ish without the angst, like Melissa de la Cruz's Fresh Off the Boat. Amal's background is extremely important to her, but so are things like arranging her scarf so it frames her face just so, her friends' love lives, and all the minutiae that make up a teenager's life.
I also liked how Abdel-Fattah made an effort to make Amal's social circle multi-racial and multi-cultural; it was mostly just in the background.
Recommended despite the occasional clumsiness, and I'm looking forward to what Abdel-Fattah writes next.
Links:
-
shewhohashope's review