Does My Head Look Big in This?

Randa Abdel-Fattah

Kas 2007 · Pan Australia

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The slide opened and I heard a gentle, kind voice:
'What is your confession, my child?'
I was stuffed. The priest would declare me a heretic;
my parents would call me a traitor . . .
The priest asked me again: 'What is your confession, my child?'
'I'm Muslim,' I whispered.

Welcome to my world. I'm Amal Abdel-Hakim, a sixteen-year-old Australian-Palestinian-Muslim still getting to grips with my various identity hyphens.

It's hard enough to be cool as a teenager, but try wearing a veil on your head and getting in the 'bums up' position at lunchtime and you know you're in for a tough time.

Luckily my friends support me, although they've got a few troubles of their own. Simone, blonde and gorgeous, has got serious image issues, and Leila's really intelligent but her parents are more interested in her getting a marriage certificate than her high school certificate.

And I thought I had problems . . .

A story of being true to yourself, standing up for your beliefs and finding your own way.


Praise for Does My Head Look Big In This?

'The freshest voice and perspective in young adult fiction.' Weekend Australian

'Reading Randa Abdel-Fattah's first novel is like discovering a jewel.' Sydney Morning Herald

'A no-holds-barred look at life when cultures clash and modernity wars with tradition.' Good Weekend

'This debut should speak to anyone who has felt like an outsider for any reason.' Publishers Weekly

Winner of the ABIA Awards' Book of the Year for Older Children 2006

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Randa Abdel-Fattah is twenty-five, and has her own identity hyphens to contend with (Australian-born-Muslim-Palestinian-Egyptian-choc-a-holic). For years Randa has been active in the inter-faith community. She is also a member of a number of Palestinian human rights campaigns, the Australian Arabic council and various Australian Muslim women networks. Randa grew up in Melbourne but now lives in Sydney where she works as a lawyer. She loves travelling to Egypt and Palestine and being spoilt by her relatives. She also loves reading, watching romantic comedies, her husband's sense of humour, getting a seat on the train, and any movie starring Colin Firth. Randa is currently working on her second novel.