Book Review: Does My Head Look Big in This?

Does My Head Look Big in This? is a nice change from many of the heavier topics I have read about and reviewed within our Global Scholars blog. The book is by Randa Abdel-Fattah a lawyer from Australia who is active in advocating for Palestinian Human Rights.

The book focuses on a female high school student, Amal, who is a practicing Muslim within her Melbourn, Australian community. As an Australian-Palestinian she has to deal with discrimination from others, especially after she decides to wear her hijab "full time" when out in public and at her school which has very few muslim students. Granted some of that discrimination comes from the voices within her own head as she assumes people are staring at her and thinking things about her because of the Hijab, much like many people do when feeling uncomfortable in a public situation.

She is definitely the "odd one out" in her school setting but is able to navigate peer situations, find community in her friendships, and use a witty dialogue as a sometimes sassy eleventh grader would to help her through uncomfortable situations.

There are definitely pop culture references of tv shows that identify the publication of the book in 2005, such as when the character Amal, makes references to episodes of the show Friends and Sex and the City. Both shows had a very large following at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s. Those references seem to make her more identifiable by the reader, especially if you are familiar with either of those shows. The book tries to build interfaith relationships as the character Amal interacts with her Greek Orthodox neighbor and explains her faith to her Christian and non-religious friends at school.

The book deals with the pressures of a high school setting which

may be appealing to younger global scholars looking for a good book on the global scholar list. The target audience definitely seems like high school students and I would recommend the book for students looking for something that does not deal with the heavy issues of war, refugees and oppression and it is not one of the "older iconic international literature" pieces that can be a challenge to get through and understand. You don't need know a lot of prior knowledge about global issues to enjoy this book which makes it a good one to start with as a freshman or sophomore. If unable to find the book in the library there is a copy in Mr. Montanye's classroom that he can lend out to anyone interested.