A review by sc104906
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
2.0
Amal decides to start wearing hijab full time at the start of her eleventh grade year. She braces herself for the reaction of others, knowing that they will not alter her faith or decisions regarding her faith. Amal's life is about more than just her religious expressions, she has an active social life with boy-crazy friends, she needs to pass important school exams, and she is dealing with her grumpy neighbor Mrs. Vaselli.
This novel offered an important starting point to the discussion of religious freedoms, the treatment of Muslims after 9/11, and the treatment of those who are considered "outsiders." This novel attempted to address many of the typical teenage challenges like eating disorders, smoking, crushes, and seemingly out-of-touch parents. The novel became more about the message and left something to be desired in the characters and plot. Amal and her friends read more like 13 year-old girls, instead of 11th graders. Their dissection of text messages and squeally girl chats were not representative of today's 11th grader. I truly wish that the author would have focused more on the relationship between Mrs. Vaselli and Amal. I found that to be the most compelling and allowed the author to explore her concepts the best. I found myself interested in Leila's story and her interactions with her restrictive family, but I get why she is not the focus of this novel. I feel that this is an important book and did offer layers of interesting story, but overall it didn't ring realistic.
This novel offered an important starting point to the discussion of religious freedoms, the treatment of Muslims after 9/11, and the treatment of those who are considered "outsiders." This novel attempted to address many of the typical teenage challenges like eating disorders, smoking, crushes, and seemingly out-of-touch parents. The novel became more about the message and left something to be desired in the characters and plot. Amal and her friends read more like 13 year-old girls, instead of 11th graders. Their dissection of text messages and squeally girl chats were not representative of today's 11th grader. I truly wish that the author would have focused more on the relationship between Mrs. Vaselli and Amal. I found that to be the most compelling and allowed the author to explore her concepts the best. I found myself interested in Leila's story and her interactions with her restrictive family, but I get why she is not the focus of this novel. I feel that this is an important book and did offer layers of interesting story, but overall it didn't ring realistic.