Does My Head Look Big in This?

Does My Head Look Big In This?

Author	Randa Abdel-Fattah
Language	English
Genre	Young Adult Fiction
Publisher	Pac Macmillan (Australia)
Publication date	August 1st, 2005
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Paperback
Pages	348
ISBN	0-439-91947-9
OCLC	74648918
LC Class	PZ7.A15892 Doe 2007

Does My Head Look Big In This? is author Randa Abdel-Fattah's first novel. It was released in Australia, by Pan MacMillan Australia, on August 1, 2005. It won the Australian Book Industry Award and Australian Book of The Year Award for older children.

The story revolves around (and is told from the view point of) a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who decides to wear the hijab, a religious veil, full-time. Her decision leads to different reactions from her friends, family, and peers.

Plot

Sixteen year old, Amal Mohamed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim is an Australian Palestinian-Muslim girl who lives in Melbourne with her father, doctor Mohamed, and mother, dentist Jamila. During the winter break before her second semester at McCleans Preparatory School, Amal debates wearing the hijab (the religious Muslim head covering) as a full timer (meaning that she would have to wear it in front of males who weren't immediate family). While trying to make her decision, Amal takes advice from Yasmeen Khan and Leila Okulgen, her best friends from her Islamic junior high school. When she introduces her idea of wearing the hijab to her father and mother, they are hesitant but learn to accept it. As a test-run, Amal (while wearing a hijab) and her mother go to Chadstone Mall. After three hijab-wearing women say "Assalam-u-Alaikum" (the universal Islamic greeting meaning "peace be upon you") to Amal, she gets a sense that wearing a hijab binds Muslim women in some kind of universal sisterhood, and feels much more prepared to continue full-time.

The next day (the first day of second semester), Amal wears only a hijab to school, and her classmates tease her for her near-nudity. Initially, she is met with uncertainty by her peers- including her chemistry partner and crush Adam- and her principal, Ms. Walsh, who is eventually persuaded by Amal's parents to allow her to wear the hijab. Eventually, though, Amal's classmates begin to accept her again. Over time, Adam and Amal become closer, their friends Simone and Josh begin to flirt (despite curvy Simone constantly worrying about her weight), and Amal starts to feel more proud of her hijab. She slowly develops a bond with Mrs. Vaselli, a cranky, elderly Greek neighbour, over their experiences of multiculturalism and family.

When the popular Adam invites Amal to his birthday party, her mother reluctantly gives her permission to go (even though Amal lies and says there will be no alcohol). At the party, Adam tries to kiss Amal, but at the last moment, she breaks away and tells him that she does not believe in having any physical relationships with a male before marriage. They begin to argue but the discussion ends when he states that they are "too different" and "don't understand each other". Infuriated, Amal leaves the party. At school, Amal notices that there is no "spark" between her and Adam anymore, but is proud that she put religion before her desires.

On Leila's birthday, Amal and Yasmeen lie to Leila's overprotective parents and take Leila out for dinner. However, they encounter Hakan, Leila's misogynistic older brother, and his girlfriend. Angry, he escorts Leila back home. Amal and Leila's parents are enraged that the girls lied and Amal is grounded. Leila, tired of pressure from her mother to marry, runs away from home the next day. Amal blames Leila's mother, Gulchin, and says that she didn't deserve Leila. Two months pass before Leila shows up at Amal's house near the end of Ramadan; she confesses that she ran away to a women's shelter, and couldn't bear the feeling of being unsafe. She and her mother forgive each other, and Gulchin begins to show more leniency towards Leila. By the end of the novel, Simone and Josh are dating, Amal has persuaded Mrs. Vaselli to reconnect with her estranged son, and she and Adam are becoming friends again. Amal realizes it is the different and imperfect immigrants that are her friends and family who have shaped who she is, and who she will become in the future. .

Characters

• Amal Mohamed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim is the main protagonist of the story. She is a sixteen-year-old Australian Palestinian-Muslim girl with green-blue eyes and light brown hair. When she was in preschool, teachers labeled her as slow because she was the last child to learn how to spell her own name. Amal spent her elementary years in a Catholic school and then went to Hidaya - The Guidance - Islamic College for grades seven to ten. She had to transfer to McCleans Preparatory School for eleventh grade since Hidaya only went up to the tenth grade. Her father and mother call her "Ya Amal" (Ya means Oh in Arabic) when they are in an affectionate mood. Amal is deeply religious and very respectful of her family and elders. While power walking on the treadmill at her house, and watching a Friends rerun, Amal is inspired by Rachel Green to wear the hijab as an act of responsibility and courage. Amal has strong feelings for Adam Keane, her crush, but puts her religion before her heart when he tries to kiss her at his birthday party.
• Leila Okulgen is one of Amal's best friends from Hidaya. She is seventeen years old (at the end of the book) and is a Turkish Muslim girl with dark brown hair, and deep brown eyes. Her mother, Gulchin, is over-strict, feels disappointed by Leila, and thinks that Leila's dreams of becoming a lawyer are impossible and shameful, since criminal justice work is "unfitting for a girl". Gulchin keeps trying to get her daughter to marry, but Leila refuses each time. Eventually, she gets upset and runs away for two months to a women's shelter in the city. After she returns, Gulchin stops trying to set her up. Leila has a brother named Hakan. She wears the hijab as a "full-timer", just like Amal.
• Yasmeen Khan is Amal's other best friend from Hidaya. She is sixteen years old and is an Australian Muslim of Pakistani and British descent with curly brown hair and brown eyes. Yasmeen has white skin with a ton of freckles. Her mother, Cassandra, is a Brit who converted to Islam, and her father, Tariq, is a Pakistani. When in public, Yasmeen likes to pretend her name is Jasmine because she "thinks it's more exotic". Yasmeen doesn't wear the hijab full-time, and attends a public high school with Leila. She has a younger brother, Omar, who is described as having chocolate-colored skin.
• Mrs. Vaselli is Amal's Greek neighbor. Originally portrayed as a grumpy old lady who Amal dislikes, she and Amal eventually connect over their stories about family and life as an immigrant.
• Simone is one of Amal's best friends at McCleans. She is sixteen years old and is a natural blonde. Her mother is desperate for her to lose weight, have a boyfriend and be "normal". Since she is slightly overweight, Simone tries many fad diets, and is constantly bullied by Tia about her weight. Simone gets discouraged easily, and has a low self-esteem. However, she eventually forms a romantic relationship with Josh.
• Eileen Tanaka is Amal's other best friend at McCleans. She is a sixteen-year-old Japanese girl. Eileen previously studied Japanese dance, and is interested in a creative arts degree, much to her parents' dismay. Unlike Simone and Amal, Eileen never comes close to having a romantic relationship.
• Adam Keane is Amal's crush, chemistry partner, and one of her close friends. His mother ran away when he was seven; Adam states that she phones him on annual holidays and sends him polo shirts, but he will never forgive her. His father has a partner, Charlene, but Adam is somewhat distant from them. He is shown to be a jock, but also studious and interested in a career in medicine. Amal and Adam enjoy their comradeship, and occasionally flirt. Adam attempts to kiss Amal at his birthday party, but she rejects his advances, choosing to stand by her religion. This incident ends their flirtation, but after Leila runs away, they begin to rebuild their friendship. Although she knows it won't be the same as before, Amal is still grateful that she and Adam are friends again.
• Josh Goldberg is another one of Amal's friends at McCleans and Simone's love interest. He is Jewish and supports Amal when she starts wearing a hijab. He first shows interest in Simone when she is doing an impersonation of a teacher, and after a long period of flirting, he asks her out and they begin their romantic relationship. Josh, despite being very popular, is firm friends with Amal, and they have a fun time together. Adam and Josh are very close, and are implied to be best friends.
• Tia Tamos is an antagonist and the school bully. Although she is "gorgeous", with green eyes and jet-black hair, she is very haughty and hypocritical, often making nasty remarks about other students to their faces. Tia is a prejudiced racist who will pounce on anyone misfitting, ugly, or non-white: she constantly makes rude comments about Simone's weight, Eileen's heritage, and Amal's religion. She has a crush on Josh, much to his disgust.
• Claire Foster and Rita Mason are Tia's followers, who abide by everything she says and does.
• Uncle Joe is Amal's maternal uncle and was born "Ismail". He does not follow his religion, and tries his best to become fully "Aussie".
• Aunt Mandy is Joe's wife and Amal's aunt. Like her husband, she does not follow her religion.
• Samantha is Amal's cousin. She is in her second year of college and is the daughter of Joe and Mandy. She is one of the few extended family members Amal trusts and enjoys talking to.
• George is Amal's younger cousin. He is the son of Joe and Mandy, and is considered a pest by both Amal and Samantha.
• Hakan is Leila's older brother, who prefers to be known as Sam. Although he is violent-tempered, Gulchin loves him and allows him to have his own way. He dislikes Leila and is verbally abusive towards her.