Does My Head Look Big In This?

Instinctively I have picked up a book that fits in perfectly (almost) with my cross-cultural theme: Does My Head Look Big In This by Randa Abdel-Fattah. The owner of the titular head has made the decision to wear the hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, in the middle of a school year. She realizes that this will only serve to make her stand out even more in her elite prep school in Australia, but she was inspired by Rachel on the television program Friends, when that character showed the courage to wear a hideous bridesmaid's dress at a wedding. Yes, it was just that lame. She made a decision about her faith and culture based on a sit-com episode, but such is the way life works, dunnit?

Appearing to be a challenging read at 360 pages, Abdel-Fattah manages to make this story (Amal is described as "hilarious" but not all that funny to me) warm-hearted, thought-provoking, and quick to read. All manner of Muslims (well, at least a nice cross-section) are portrayed from the Must Assimilate At All Costs to the This Is What Being Muslim Meant In My Village 20 Years Ago. Amal, the titular headowner, can get a bit shrill about what it means to be a modern, Australian-born Muslim, but she is just sixteen and if she didn't scream about how unfair everything was, how believable would she be?

This book is a good fictional introduction to Islam for the Clueless Teen. See? Amal is just like you, obsessed with boys, make-up, clothes (which ones go with her hijab), her hair (even if you can't see it anymore), zits, school, and the magazine Cosmo. Yes, it's a chick book, despite some token sports. We're dealing with the extreme emotions of the teen here. Even Adam, her male friend interest, is willing to talk about his feelings (although he complains about it). The story references the World Trade Center attacks and the bombing of the club in Indonesia. We see Amal cope with the fallout of the latter in the news, which have made her a lightning rod for the hostilities.

More tragically, she watches one of her closest friends badgered by her mother to stop spending so much time on her studies and pick one of the men being constantly paraded in front of her for a husband, get married, and have children. The girl instead has dreams of becoming a doctor, which her mother finds shameful. Her homelife is further darkened by her brother, who is into drugs, alcohol, and fast women. My reaction came right out of "Earth Girls Are Easy": Leave home, kid! It was not that surprising that she did, after being dragged home from a restaurant dinner party in honor of her birthday.

Being "hilarious," everything works out at the end. Polly-Amal helps bring her crabby neighbor and son back together. Okay, it's not as blatant as that. But will her "fat" friend finds true love without having to become anorexic? Will Amal's debate team win? Should Australia become a republic? Will Leila be found beaten and dead or will she return to her repressive home ... and then be found beaten and dead? Does Adam like Amal? Is she leading him on? Will she ever get over her big head? Tune in!

Being teen oriented, there is no shortage of angst, conflict, and pop culture references. On the whole, though, it's an interesting book and another great springboard for discussions on diversity and tolerance.