Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-fattah

Does My Head Look Big In This? by Abdel-Fattah, Randa is the story of Amal, an Australian-Muslim-Palestenian sixteen year old girl who makes the decision to wear the head-scarf, hijab full time. This is a big decision because she knows that the hijab has the potential to alienate many of the people she comes in contact with. Starting with the other students that go do the posh prep school she attends, a boy she has a crush on, and even members of her own family. 
Amal is just like any other 16 year-old; she wants to fit in but she also wants to be an individual. She is proud of her culture, Muslim and Palestinian, but she is conscious of being perceived as a religious zealot. 

This last point, religious devotion, is especially poignant in that the book takes place in 2002, the year after 9/11. As a Muslim, Amal is often put in the position to explain the actions of Islamic terrorists. Amal responds to these requests by asking Christians to explain the bombings by the IRA and the Klu Klux Klan. 

My two criticisms of the book is that at times it be very heavy handed and repetitive with the message, Muslims are like everyone else. I would have also liked the author to explain in greater detail why Muslim woman wear the hijab in the first place.

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In  the classroom:
I would pair this book with a unit on Islam, perhaps not as a requirement because the indended audience are girls. It could work nicely with book groups. It gives some insight into the Arab culture, especially the trials of living in a non Muslim country. It re-enforces Islamic teachings and traditions through the character of Amal. The book also offers lots of examples of how we tend to stereotype groups or make the homogeneous and how dangerous it is to essentialize others by making them speak for an entire religion, race or ethnicity. For example, in the exchange Amal has with the class president, Lara, Lara wants Amal to speak about the motives behind bombings perpetrated by Islamic terrorists. Amal points out that she cannot speak on their behalf, because as she says, they are not part of her. 

Lexile Level: 850
Grade Level: 7th grade and up