Lacrisa Darby (Children's Literature)
Amal Mohamed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim, a vivacious and witty teenager, has recently moved with her parents to Melbourne, Australia. The sixteen-year-old Australian-Muslim-Palestinian embraces her heritage and background, while her parents, Mohamed and Jamila, have a deep relationship with their daughter, always keeping Amal grounded with what is important in life. The Abdel-Hakim family resides in the suburbs of Melbourne, where Amal is adjusting to the move while she makes new and exciting friends. When her family moved, she had to leave all of her dear friends behind to attend McCleans Preparatory School full-time. Her friends are in for a big surprise when she shows up at school after their winter break wearing a hijab, a head scarf that symbolizes her religion and faith. Amal makes the life-changing decision to wear a hijab after watching an episode of Friends in which the character Rachel decides to wear a dreadful bridesmaid dress to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. The episode makes Amal passionate about wearing the scarf. Her parents, along with her principal, feel that wearing the scarf will only cause problems for Amal, but she decides that she is proud of her heritage and wants to embrace her culture, despite the consequences. In the beginning, she worries about the stereotypes she will face. Yazmeen, Amal’s best friend, helps her deal with the pressure of wearing her hijab. As all of these events take place, she begins to see the world in a new light, realizing why wearing the hijab was so important in the beginning. One thing readers will gain from this book is knowledge of self-love and an appreciation of their culture. The author did a great job of presenting a story of a culture that is constantly maligned for their daily customs--especially in contemporary American media. This engaging text is presented in an intimate format similar to a diary, making Amal’s story shine through the text and giving readers a sense of her every emotion. A must-read! 2007, Orchard Books, $16.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Jen Waters (CM Magazine, November 23, 2007 (Vol. XIV, No. 7))
Amal Mohamed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim lives with her family in Camberwell, an affluent suburb in Melbourne, Australia. After having an epiphany while watching Friends, Amal decides to go "full-time" wearing her hijab at her prep school, much to the surprise of her parents, teachers and friends. She composes a "To Wear or Not to Wear" list and stresses at great length over it, but ultimately Amal decides she should jump right into as the new semester begins at her prep school. Of course, her decision is not without its drawbacks; not only do the mean girls and jocks mock her, Amal also encounters resistance with the principal who thinks she is purposefully altering the school uniform and not merely expressing her religious beliefs. But luckily Amal has the support of her friends, a teacher/counsellor and a cute boy named Adam. With Does My Head Look Big In This, Abel-Fattah has not only taken the typical chick lit genre to a new level, but she also filled it with a number of uniquely drawn characters, such as Amal's aunt and uncle who have militantly assimilated into Australian culture with their gift shop-looking living room and the polar opposite aunt and uncle who are bound and determined to arrange their daughter's marriage. And most memorable is the Greek neighbour; Amal befriends the prickly woman and slowly learns of her sad life story. But for the teen girls who will surely enjoy this book, there are a good many annoying snobs, smart-yet-sensitive boys, and girls with the body and identity issues thrown in to round out the group. Abdel-Fattah has effectively managed to create a book that, like in the style of the short-lived television show My So-Called Life, would appeal both to teens and their parents (although with the pretty shiny polka dots on the cover, I predict that mainly teens will be attracted to it). As the novel is set in 2002, Amal must endure both open and close-minded classmates asking her about the terrorists of September 11 that they've seen on television. The attacks on a nightclub in Bali also bring automatic comments and whispers about evil Palestinians, and make Amal question her own faith as well. By wearing the hijab, Amal discovers much about her own identity. She also realizes that it is the immigrants in her life who have inspired her to understand what it means to be an Aussie: "It's been the "darkies", the "towel heads", the "foreigners", the "persons of Middle Eastern appearance", the Asians, the "oppressed" women, the Greek Orthodox pensioner chain-smokers, the "salami eaters", the "ethnics", the narrow-minded and the educated, the total wannabees, the principal with hairy ears who showed me that I am a colourful adjective. It's their stories and confrontations and pains and joys which have empowered me to know myself, challenged me to embrace my identity as a young Australian-Palestinian-Muslim girl." Recommended. Rating: *** /4. Grades 8-11. 2007, Orchard Books (Distributed in Canada by Scholastic Canada), 360 pp., cloth, $20.99. Ages 13 to 16.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 8))
An "Australian-Muslin-Palestinian" teen opts to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time, embarking on a courageous exercise in self-understanding. Sixteen-year-old Amal attends an elite prep school in a Melbourne suburb. Poised to begin the third term of 11th grade, Amal admits, "it's hard enough being an Arab Muslim at a new school," but "shawling up is just plain psychotic." Determined to prove she's strong enough to "wear a badge of my faith," Amal faces ostracism and ridicule as she dons her hijab with both good humor and trepidation. Supported by her parents, Amal spurns racial epithets like "towel head" and discovers her friends still accept her for who she is, not what she wears. As the term progresses, Amal's friends face their own issues of self-worth while her faith is tested when she falls in love with a non-Muslim classmate. Wearing the hijab full-time shuts some doors, but opens others for Amal as she emerges a bright, articulate heroine true to herself and her faith. Abdel-Fattah's fine first novel offers a world of insight to post-9/11 readers. 2007, Orchard, 352p, $16.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 to 18. Starred Review. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, May 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 3))
We have been waiting for just such a book as this in YA literature! Abdel-Fattah is a Muslim, an Egyptian-Palestinian-Australian who lives in Sydney. Her narrator is Amal, a smart junior in prep school, whose parents are professionals and who is heading in that direction herself, especially after a highly successful debating contest. Amal was a student at a Catholic school as a child, then at an Islamic school for several years, and now she is at a prep school where being Muslim is a distinct oddity. As the story begins, she is deciding that she wants to begin wearing a headscarf as a sign of her faith--hence the title. Even her parents are somewhat hesitant about this, since it will set Amal so thoroughly apart from the other students. Now, Amal is not someone who is especially pious--she loves junk TV, going out with friends to shop and gossip, and is generally a person any YA can like and relate to as they read about her--this is familiar chick lit with a new twist. What’s so good about the story is just how easy it is for non-Muslim readers to relate to Amal; and I’m sure Muslim readers will snap this one up since they rarely see themselves portrayed in YA literature. A subplot concerns a friend of Amal’s from the Islamic school: Leila is just as smart as Amal and yearns to continue her education and become a professional; however, her parents do not encourage her as Amal’s parents encourage her. Instead, Leila’s mother is trying to arrange her marriage and believes marriage and motherhood is all any good Muslim girl should want. Leila runs away to a women’s shelter, and finally returns home with her mother’s promise to let her continue her education. Here’s a great line as Amal reports how things are going: “Leila brought home the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice for an English assignment and her mother watched it with her. Apparently she was very impressed with Mrs. Bennet’s matchmaking skills.” Fun and just what we need in the way of diversity. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005, Scholastic, Orchard, 352p., $16.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Catherine M. Andronik (Library Media Connection, November/December 2007)
Amal, whose parents are Palestinian immigrants, is, like all teens, intent on discovering who she is including the depth of her religious beliefs. One of the decisions she must make is when to start wearing the hijab, or headscarf. Her choice to wear the hijab results in controversy in school, among her friends, and within her immediate and extended family. Just when Amal starts coming across as too preachy, fortunately, her funny, spunky, and irreverent nature asserts itself. Some of the pop culture references seem dated. With so much misunderstanding surrounding Islam in today's world, teens may appreciate a high school-centered story featuring a Muslim girl who is more like than unlike them in many ways. Additional Selection. 2007, Orchard Books (Scholastic, Inc.), 368pp., $16.99 hc. Ages 13 to 18.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, September 2007 (Vol. 61, No. 1))
Australian-born Amal, a Muslim of Palestinian descent, has decided to take the plunge and become a full-timer, which is what she and her Muslim friends call girls who wear the hijab, or head scarf, whenever they will be in the presence of males outside their immediate family. She makes a good case for her decision: not only does it make more sense to her to base your fashion sense on Allah’s injunction to dress modestly than on what some “ugly fake-tanned old fart in Milan” says is in this year, but it also draws attention away from teen obsessions like cleavage and shoulder-to-hip ratios. The downside, as she quickly discovers, is that she has to become a spokesperson for her faith in an age (2002) when “Muslim” has become shorthand for “terrorist.” With her fiery temper and quick wit, Amal razors through illegitimate conflations of religion, culture, and pathology, but she is still resolutely a teenaged girl—that is, while she understands her religious motivations for adopting the hijab, she is not yet ready to completely divorce herself from its cultural aspects. She recoils from the prejudices it engenders, but she enjoys feeling part of an elite club. Nor is she ready for the change of heart her decision portends: she flirts from beneath her veil and treats it as much as a fashion accessory as a religious symbol, spending hours putting together color-coordinated outfits and adjusting the curve of the scarf just so. But as bad hair days get replaced by bad hijab days, she steadily grows into an increasingly mature and nuanced understanding of what it means to be a Muslim woman, helped by the positive example of her stylish, professional, devout mother and the negative examples of her assimilation-obsessed aunt and her best friend’s tradition-strictured mother. Self-conscious and self-aware, funny and feisty, Amal turns into a pretty good spokesperson for her faith after all. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Orchard, 352p; Reviewed from galleys, $16.99. Grades 7-10.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2007)
Eleventh-grade "Australian-Muslim-Palestinian" Amal debates the pros and cons of wearing the hijab (Muslim head scarf) full-time. She is supported by her friends, and their IM chats and discussions, peppered with references to fashion, music, pop culture, and Amal's crush, also explore practices of Islam while dismantling stereotypes. The girls' thoughts and dreams are authentically adolescent, providing a bridge between cultures. Category: Older Fiction. 2007, Scholastic/Orchard, 360pp, 16.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Carlisle K. Webber (VOYA, August 2007 (Vol. 30, No 3))
The sight of Jennifer Aniston in a bridesmaid's dress creates an urge to change the channel for most viewers, but for witty, academically talented Amal Abdel-Hakim, it inspires the confidence to wear the hijab full time. As a Pakistani Australian Muslim, she has been teased about her religion, but in her decision to wear the hijab, she also has the support of loyal friends and her loving parents. Armed with fashion sense as well as faith, Amal sets out to match her hijab to her school clothes and modify her weekend wardrobe to flatter her assets as well as to express her belief in modesty. Not everyone is so accepting of her hijab, however. Classmates at her private high school ask her what she knows about terrorism, and a cranky neighbor makes no effort to hide her prejudices. Throughout the book, Amal makes candid yet astute observations on what it means to be a Muslim, a modern woman, and a good friend and daughter. Although the book addresses many teen issues including identity, family, religious traditions, and body image, it rarely strays into the realm of didactic. There is plenty of gentle humor, and strong female relationships balance Amal's racist classmates and a friend's crushingly traditional Muslim parent. In addition to her friendships, Amal also tries to deal with a crush that she knows will never develop into a romance and the hypocritical behaviors of some of her cousins. This novel is an excellent addition to the multicultural and chick-lit genres, and it is recommended for most collections. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2007, Orchard, 342p., $16.99. Ages 12 to 18.