Does my head look big in this?

The story Does My Head Look Big in This? is a young adult novel that takes place in Austrailia. The main character in the novel addresses many issues that we have talked about in class already. To wear the hijab or not to wear the hijab? After taking a long four days to think about whether or not to wear it she finally decides to wear it. The main character Amal seems to hold a high level of respect for her religion for being such a young age. She wants to follow it closely and respect it. After her crush tries to kiss her she pulls away and gets in a fight with him, which shows how strongly she believes in her faith, because most girls her age would be dying for a kiss from their crush.

I feel like her friends in the novel were particularly written that way just for the purpose of the novel. She has the one friend who is Asian and has to deal with racial issues. She has another who is constantly dieting and is very insecure about her weight. She also has another friend whose parents are strict and constantly pressuring her to do school work; they are always trying to find a suitor to set her up with. Each of these girls is very interesting, but it seems unlikely that they would be friends in a typical high school setting. However not all high schools are cliché like people think that they are.

I enjoyed reading this novel because it was very easy to read and predict. It told a story of a girl in high school struggling with her religion. I would recommend this story to young adults in high school, it gave a good message overall.