Tuesday, March 15, 2011

                                                                                   Beverly R. Hall
               Non-Western Book Review
   







Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Does My Head Look Big in This? New York: Scholastic Inc, 2008.

 360 pages, ISBN: 978-0-439-92233-3.  Also available in paperback 
Grades 7-12  
Reading Level 4.9 Lexile: 850L
           

To wear or not to wear, that is the question! (to paraphrase a famous author)
For 16 year old Amal, an Australian/Palestinian/Muslim teenager living in Australia, the decision to wear the hijab fulltime is an angst producing choice for which she knows there will be all kinds of repercussions.  Early on in the book, this is quite evident when she discusses the matter with her close friend Yasmeen.  Yasmeen’s response is as follows:
“ Well, duh! What are you trying to do to yourself? Isn’t it hard enough
with a last name the length of the alphabet? Now you want people to wonder
if you’re batting for Osama’s team? Stick with anonymity, girl!”
This is not enough to discourage Amal from deciding that she wishes to wear the Muslim head scarf as a “full-timer”.  Beginning with the return from winter vacation, Amal covers her head with the hijab and proceeds to dress with only her hands and face showing. 
            Even though Amal is the main character in the book and the book revolves at numerous times around her decision, it is also the story of teenagers and their interactions with each other, their families, and other adults.  It is a witty, sometimes humorous, sometimes sad look at their lives.  It is a particularly poignant glimpse of a girl who is very much like teens that we know or with whom we have come into contact. The book is an easy, entertaining read that paints a vivid picture of the scenes and dialogues between the characters. We can easily imagine Amal’s look of exasperation when the school president approaches her about giving a speech at the next forum meeting about “the topic of Islam and terrorism” (this is in response to the terrorist attacks in Bali).  As the conversation goes on, it becomes quite apparent that Amal has been asked to speak simply because she is Muslim. At one point, she says to Lara, the school president:
            “You’re Christian, right? (Amal)
…Yeah… what’s that got to do with anything? (Lara)
OK, well I’ll give the speech if you give a speech about the Ku Klux Klan. (Amal)
Huh? (Lara)
Yeah, why not? They’re really religious, so obviously what they did was textbook Christianity, right?” (Amal)  (pages 255-56)
            In looking at other young adult books, I am reminded of Sharon M. Draper’s November Blues, Melba Patillo Beals’ memoir Warriors Don’t Cry, and We Beat the Streets by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt (with Sharon Draper).  In November Blues, we meet the character of November who must deal with the life changing event of a teenage pregnancy while remaining in school.  In Warriors Don’t Cry, we read the true life story of Melba Pattillo Beals and the integration of Little Rock’s Central High. In We Beat the Streets, we have the true story of three young men growing up under rough circumstances who make a pact with each other to provide support to one another and follow their dreams.  These three books – one novel and two non-fictions –also remind us of the trials and tribulations of teen decision making, being caught up in history, or surviving despite the odds. 

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